12  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

diture  of  untold  amounts  of  money.  But  it  finally  won 
out,  and  the  same  process,  applied  by  our  experts  to 
Latin-America,  reinforced  by  the  knowledge  and  experi- 
ence gained  in  the  United  States,  will  eventually  win 
for  us  among  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  speaking 
peoples  the  same  success  we  have  attained  at  home. 

The  foundation  stone  of  any  advertising  intended  for 
use  in  Latin-America  is  that  it  must  be  Latin  in  char- 
acter. That  means  that  regardless  of  who  supplies  the 
idea  it  must  be  carried  out  by  a  mind  that  thinks  in  the 
same  mental  channels  as  the  people  to  whom  the  ad- 
vertising is  directed.  An  advertisement  written  in 
Brazil  for  insertion  in  the  "Saturday  Evening  Post"  as 
an  appeal  to  the  people  of  this  country  to  buy  some 
article  of  Brazilian  manufacture  would,  in  all  likeli- 
hood, excite  nothing  but  derision  and  would  fail  to 
justify  the  money  spent  for  the  space.  Why,  then, 
should  it  be  reasonable  to  suppose  that  an  advertisement 
written  in  New  York  to  be  printed  in  one  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro's  great  dailies  should  meet  with  any  other  fate 
among  the  cultured  classes  of  that  splendid  city  than  in 
the  first  case?  The  answer  is  obvious,  and  the  results 
in  dollars  and  cents  will  be  just  as  patent  to  any  adver- 
tiser who  makes  the  experiment. 

For  the  reason  just  stated,  the  truth  of  which  has 
been  demonstrated  many  times,  it  is  more  than  doubtful 
ethics  for  many  advertising  agencies  to  attempt  to  make 
clients  in  the  United  States  believe  that  it  can  give 
them  the  same  quality  of  service  in  Latin-America  that 
it  renders  in  the  United  States.  The  case  desei-ves  a 
stronger  term  than  doubtful  ethics;  downright  dishon- 
esty is  a  closer  characterization.  Any  advertising  man 
who  is  in  touch  with  the  Latin-American  field,  and  there 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  IS 

are  few  who  can  really  claim  to  be  that,  knows  that  the 
situation  is  an  intensely  complicated  and  difficult  one 
for  an  American  to  handle  and  that  mere  reliance  on 
methods  that  have  succeeded  in  the  United  States  will 
get  his  client  nowhere.  The  Latin- American  advertising 
situation  must  stand  on  its  own  feet,  be  approached 
from  its  own  individual  angles,  and  solved  as  an  entirely 
distinct  problem  from  any  that  are  met  with  in  the 
merchandising  campaigns  of  the  United  States. 

On  the  other  hand,  no  market  yields  more  readily  to 
proper  methods  than  that  of  Latin-America.  There 
is  no  more  fertile  trade-field  anywhere  in  the  world, 
population  and  purchasing  power  considered,  than  the 
various  republics  who  share  this  hemisphere  with  us. 
The  present  era  is  one  of  awakening  and  rejuvenation 
in  practically  every  country  south  of  our  Texas  border, 
and  the  opportunity  for  trade  and  national  service  m 
unsurpassed.  To  point  out  the  methods  that  will  win, 
as  well  as  to  show  what  to  avoid,  will  be  the  purpose 
of  the  following  chapters  of  this  book.  The  field  is  one 
that  merits  the  closest  attention  and  most  persistent 
effort.  If  Americans  will  work  as  hard  for  the  develop- 
ment of  this  market  as  they  have  worked  in  building  up 
their  enormous  home  market,  success  will  be  assured. 

Perhaps  no  better  contrast  between  the  Latin-Amer- 
ican character  and  the  North  American  has  ever  been 
made  than  that  expressed  by  the  Hon.  Don  Frederico 
Alfonso  Pezet,  Ambassador  to  the  United  States  from 
Peru,  a  student  and  an  observer. 

In  his  book  "Contrast  in  the  Development  of  Nation- 
ality in  Anglo-American  and  Latin- American,"  he  says : 

As  the  news  of  the  discovery  of  the  New  World  invaded  the 
European  countries,  two  types  that  were  to  mold  the  destinies 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


^tSAmli9  School  of  Business  Adminlstra^fQjr 

Universe-  ^v  of  California  ^ 

ir»»  Ingales  24     CalifomU 

UMIVEKSITY  of  CALIFORNIA 

AT 
L(JS  AMGELES 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/advertisingfortrOOaughiala 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

IN 
LATIN-AMERICA 


The  front  cover  of  "Succsos,"  an  illustrated  weekly  published  in  Chile  and 
used  by  American  advertisers  extensively.  Europe  is  sinking  in  a  sea  of  blood, 
with  death  opening  the  gate  wider.  The  stricken  European  is  calling  for  a 
life-preserver,  and  Wilson,  with  a  grin  on  his  face,  is  depicted  as  throwing 
a  shell. 


Ube  Century  IforeiGn  Zvat)C  Series 

ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

IN 

LATIN-AMERICA 


BY 
W.  E.  AUGHINBAUGH,  M.D.,  LL.B.,  LL.M. 

Foreign  and  Export  Editor,  The  New  York  Commercial,  Instructor  in 

Foreign   Trade,   New  York   University;   Instructor   in    Foreign 

Trade,  Columbia  University;  Member  of  the  Bar  of  the 

Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States;   Author 

of  "SeUing  Latin-America,"   "A   Port 

for  Bolivia,"  etc.,  etc. 


.liClq^r!itc5>." 


NEW  YORK 

THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1922 

153022 


Copyright,  1922,  by 
The  Centuky  Co. 


Printed  in  TT.  S.  A. 


5S13 

SgA3 

PREFACE 

0 

^  It  is  a  real  privilege  to  write  introductory  words  about 
^any  work  relating  to  La  tin- America  prepared  by  Dr.  W. 
3  E.  Aughinbaugh.  There  is,  however,  a  special  satisfac- 
^ ,  tion  in  commending  highly  a  book  of  his  authorship  on 
~^  Latin- American  advertising. 

_^     In  my  twenty  years  close  relationship  to  Latin-Amer- 
li  ica,  first  as  United  States  Minister  and  later  as  Director 
]j  General   of  the  Pan-American  Union,  I  have  always 
fi  known  of  Dr.  Aughinbaugh's  intimate  and  authoritative 
f  acquaintance  with  almost  every  phase  of  Pan-American 
-  commercial  relations.     He  has  lived  nearly  twenty  years 
^,in  Latin-American  countries  and  visited  all  of  them  at 
fl^ different  times.    He  has  prepared  in  this  period  prac- 
'''tical  copy  for  all  of  the  representative  Latin-American 
</> newspapers  and  had  charge  of  successfully  spending 
*large  sums  of  money  for  advertising  purposes  through- 
©out  the  vast  area  and  population  south  of  the  Kio 
Grande.    As  Foreign  and  Export  Editor  of  the  "New 
York  Commercial,"  and  as  Professor  of  Foreign  Trade 
at  New  York  University  and  also  Columbia  University, 
he  has  also   done   notable   work  in   promoting   Pan- 
American  trade.     Speaking  Spanish  and  Portuguese,  he 
has  obtained  an  intimate  knowledge  of  business  men  and 
methods,  from  the  standpoint  of  both  Latin-America  and 
the  United  States,  which  makes  his  advice  invaluable. 
There  is  no  topic  having  to  do  with  Pan-American 
commerce  more  important  than  that  of  Latin-American 


Ti  PREFACE 

advertising,  for  the  future  development  of  trade  between 
the  United  States  and  Latin-America  will  be  largely 
dependent  upon  this  phase  of  international  business.  It 
is,  moreover,  a  subject  which,  because  of  the  peculiarities 
of  the  field  of  operation,  requires  the  exercise  of  the  best 
judgment  and  the  following  of  expert  opinion.  Dr. 
Aughinbaugh's  work  meets  these  requirements  and 
should  be  carefully  consulted  by  all  those  who  are  inter- 
ested in  Latin- American  advertising. 

John  Barrett, 

'  Former  Director  General  of  the  Pan- 
American  Union ;  now  Counselor  and 
Adviser  in  International  Affairs. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 


PAOB 


The  early  history  of  the  peoples  who  inhabited  the  Iberian  pen- 
insula, and  their  influence  on  the  present  Latin-Americans — 
Why  Latin-American  republics  yield  readily  to  proper  advertising 
methods        3 

CHAPTER  II 

Distrust  felt  by  Latins  for  the  United  States — Quality  markets 
a  South  American  characteristic — Methods  must  be  suited  to  each 
country — European  competition  active  again — Lack  of  good  print- 
ing equipment — No  standardization  of  drugs — Overcoming  native 
illiteracy — Billboard   advertising — Street-car   advertising    ...       18 

CHAPTER  III 

Value  of  colored  posters — Popularity  of  pictures  of  women — 
Buying  goods  merely  to  get  the  container — Concentration  on  pic- 
torial feature — Methods  of  buying  bill-posting  space — Slow  de- 
velopment of  electrical  signs — Difficulties  in  connection  with  win- 
dow displays — Storekeepers  follow  French  ideas 36 

CHAPTER  IV 

Undependable  circulation  figures — ^A  method  of  overcoming  this 
evil — Make  the  plan  self-supporting — Scarcity  of  fine  printing — 
Rate  cards  mean  nothing — Always  a  matter  for  personal  bargain- 
ing— Slow  payment  of  bills  a  grievance — Placing  advertising 
through  dealer  connections 54 

CHAPTER  V 

Possibilities  of  the  house  organ  in  Latin-America — It  offers  an 
excellent  opportunity  and  has  seldom  been  taken  advantage  of 
by  American  firms — Suggestions  as  to  its  make-up  and  manage- 
ment         63 

CHAPTER  VI 

The  mud-slinging  European — ^The  British  and  the  Germans  are 
particularly  active  in  attacking  American  goods  and  methods — 
Examples  of  this  practice — The  yellow  press  of  Latin-America  and 
its  bitterness  toward  the  United  States — How  to  combat  these 
imwarranted  attacks 70 

CHAPTER  Vn 

The  mechanical  side  of  an  advertising  campaign  in  Latin-Amer- 
ica— Reading  notices  and  their  values — The  illustrated  testimonial 
and   its    use — Translations 80 

vii 


Tiii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VIII 

PAQB 

Value  of  personal  contact  with  Latin  wholesalers — Peculiar 
credit  system  in  eflFect — Patriarchal  position  of  the  general  store- 
keeper in  each  community — EflFect  of  falling  raw  material  prices 
— Ease  of  selling  goods  if  wholesaler's  interest  can  once  be  se- 
cured— General  working   of   the   system 85 

CHAPTER  IX 

Preservation  of  racial  habits — How  the  Germans  introduced  beer 
— Getting  religious  co-operation — Low  ethical  standards  in  med- 
ical advertising — Latins  slow  to  change  habits — Success  achieved 
by  American  agricultural  machinery  advertising — Big  markets 
open  for  sale  of  Ford  car  accessories 92 

CHAPTER  X 

Reaching  South  America  through  European  publications — For- 
eign groups  and  their  native  language  papers — Experience  of  a 
camera  supply  house — Mail  order  methods  of  Parisian  dealers — 
New  system  being  tried  in  Lima — Weekly  editions  of  European 
papers — High  buying  power  thus  reached 104 

CHAPTER  XI 

Red  tape  and  the  Latin  mind — Difficulties  caused  by  custom- 
house officials — Use  of  American  and  English  names — Shortcom- 
ings of  post-office  and  custom-house  employees — Large  saving 
through  buying  advertising  matter  at  auction — ^Never  pack  ad- 
vertising matter   with  merchandise 113 

CHAPTER  XII 

No  equivalent  services  in  South  America  to  those  of  United 
States — Agencies  only  publishers'  representatives — No  understand- 
ing of  service — The  special  edition  evil — Need  for  American  agen- 
cies— Ridiculous  errors  now  made — Money  spent  without  adequate 
return — Lack  of  coherency — Possible  corrective  measures  ....     119 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Follow-up  letters  never  properly  utilized  in  South  America — 
Necessity  of  using  registered  mail — Value  of  samples — ^Must  be 
in  native  language — Imperative  requirement  of  proper  postage — 
Using  different  colored  stationery — Necessity  for  care  in  addresses 
— Fines  paid  by  recipients — Benefits  of  eliminating  all  mailing 
abbreviations 126 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Big  field  waiting  in  women's  ready-to-wear  goods — Value  of 
the  European  press  for  this  purpose — Success  in  introducing  new 
styles — Branches  of  Paris  shops  in  South  America — TariflF  difficul- 
ties— Lack  of  good  advertising  matter  for  silks,  lingerie,  etc.  .      .     132 


CONTEXTS  ix 

CHAPTER  XV 

PAoa 
Papers  printed  in  English  in  South  America — Generally  follow 
British  style — Description  of  a  typical  issue — Still  fighting  the 
Germans — Commercial  publications  in  English — Popularity  of  the 
illustrated  weekly — Means  of  reaching  the  best  families — Com- 
parative unimportance  of  trade  papers,  except  for  doctors — 
South  America  a  patent  medicine  stronghold — The  religious  press 
— Lack   of   a  middle   class 138 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Ephemeral  character  of  most  Latin  newspapers — Concentration 
on  politics — Attacks  on  the  United  States — The  Monroe  Doctrine 
— ^iiaking  friends  through  advertising — Description  of  the  leading 
dailies — Pectiliar  methods  of  distribution — Difficulty  of  getting 
circulation  figures — ^Necessity  for  bargaining  to  get  best  rates — 
Advantages   of  using  mats 155 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Booklets,  plain  and  colored  advertising  materials,  puzzles  and 
"holy-pictures"  always  bring  results  in  Latin-American  advertis- 
ing  campaigns 167  ** 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  moving-picture  advertising  campaign  is  ideal  for  Latin- 
American  countries,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  rate  of  illiteracy  is 
high,  and  at  the  same  time  the  purchasing  power  of  the  average 
peon  is  perhaps  the  best  in  the  world 176 

CHAPTER  XIX 

A  house-to-house  distribution  campaign  in  Latin-American  coun- 
tries as  a  rule  brings  prompt  results,  provided  it  is  conducted  in 
the  proper  manner.     Much  money  can  be  wasted  otherwise   .      .     184 

CHAPTER  XX 

The  concurso,  or  guessing-contest,  never  fails  to  attract  atten- 
tion and  develop  interest  in  any  advertising  campaign,  yet  few 
North  Americans  have  taken  advantage  of  the  really  great  oppor- 
tunity this  method  of  interesting  the  Latin-American  buying  pub- 
lic aflFords 190 

CHAPTER  XXI 

The  press  of  Uruguay  analyzed — Typical  of  the  average  Latin- 
American    republic 199 

CHAPTER  XXII 

The  necessity  for  registering  trade-marks  in  Latin-American 
countries — Law  does  not  protect  original  owners  of  mark — ^Vital, 
if  you  expect  to  do  business  in  these  lands 212 

APPENDIX 221 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  front  cover  of  "Sucesos,"  an  illustrated  weekly  Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

More  American  money  wasted 32 

There  is  nothing  about  this  picture  suggestive  of  hair  dye  33 

Illustrations  are  seldom  associated  with  the  text  .      .  '  .  33 

Latin-American  advertisements  are  replete  with  the  nude 

female  form 48 

Another  illustration  of  the  ever-present  desire  to  exploit 

the  female  form 49 

The  United  States  is  always  belittled 64 

Advertisers  seldom  confine  themselves  to  the  truth     .     .  65 

Another  anti-American  knock 80 

Another  slam  at  America 81 

The  result  of  letting  an  English  copy  agent  for  an  Ameri- 
can product  write  copy 112 

Three  patent-medicine  advertisements  of  native  origin     .  113 

Two  samples  of  very  poor  copy 138 

More  bad  text  . 139 

This  is  intended  to  show  the  inartistic  and  slipshod  make- 
up methods  used  in  Latin- American  papers    .     .     .  144 

A  page  of  wasted  advertising 145 

sd 


xii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGE 

Newspapers  feature  with  photo-engravings,  funerals,  mur- 
ders, suicides,  death-bed  scenes,  cemeteries,  execu- 
tions, and  surgical  operations 160 

The  Latin-American  revels  in  the  sordid  and  gruesome    .     161 

Latin-American  papers  of  all  kinds  are  guilty  of  piracy    .     164: 

Papers  do  not  discriminate  as  to  the  style  of  copy  or  the 

business  of  the  advertiser 165 

While  the  Latin- American  does  not  mean  to  be  sacrilegious 

in  his  advertising,  he  frequently  is 173 

More  horrible  copy 173 

More  wasted  money 192 

The  resiQt  of  permitting  a  local  agent  to  write  copy    .     .     193 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

IN 

LATIN-AMERICA 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  IN 
LATIN-AMERICA 

CHAPTER  I 

The  early  history  of  the  peoples  who  inhabited  the  Iberian  peninsula, 
and  their  influence  on  the  present  Latin-Americans — ^Why  Latin- 
American  republics  yield  readily  to  proper  advertising  methods. 

ADVERTISING  is  applied  psychology.  To  be 
successful  with  it  a  knowledge  of  the  national 
character  of  the  people  whom  we  are  trying  to 
reach  is  by  far  the  most  important  factor  to  be  consid- 
ered. Without  such  information  and  without  the  prac- 
tical interpretation  of  experience  already  gained,  it  is 
hard  to  imagine  a  method  of  wasting  money  more  rap- 
idly or  of  devising  a  more  unsatisfactory  way  in  which 
to  build  business  and  goodwill. 

America  is  the  most  insular  nation  on  earth.  We 
have  become  such  complete  Anglo-Saxons  in  our  out- 
look upon  life  and  upon  the  world  that  we  fail  to 
perceive  the  vast  differences  that  exist  between  us  and 
the  people  who  have  sprung  from  other  parent  stocks. 
Our  attempt  to  sell  our  goods  in  the  markets  of  the 
world  without  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  fact  that 
those  with  whom  we  are  trying  to  do  business  look  at 
evei*ything  in  a  manner  distinctly  different  and,  in  many 
cases,  frankly  antagonistic  to  ours  can  have  no  other 
result  but  failure  and  will  delay  by  just  that  length 

3 


4  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

of  time  the  period  when  our  foreign  trade  may  be  said 
to  have  genuinely  established  itself. 

This  book  is  to  deal  with  advertising  in  Latin-Amer- 
ica, and  by  that  term  is  meant  all  of  the  western  hemi- 
sphere south  of  the  Texas  border.  Cross  the  Rio 
Grande  and  you  are  in  another  world.  No  longer  do 
the  ideals,  habits  of  thought,  business  customs  and  out- 
look upon  life  govern  relationships  between  individuals 
that  we  are  accustomed  to  in  America ;  an  entirely  new 
scheme  of  things  is  encountered,  and  only  by  a  frank 
recognition  of  this  fact  and  an  immediate  reappraisal 
of  business  methods  can  Americans  hope  to  successfully 
cope  with  the  selling  plans  of  merchants  who  have 
studied  the  Latin-American  temperament  and  have 
governed  themselves  accordingly. 

There  are  approximately  sixty-six  million  people  in 
Latin-America,  a  number  so  great  and  with  potential 
resources  and  purchasing  power  so  colossal  that  the 
commercial  eyes  of  the  entire  world  are  centered  on  the 
republics  of  Central  and  South  America  that  to-day 
inherit  the  legacy  of  Spanish  culture  and  civilization, 
tempered  as  it  is  with  the  most  heterogeneous  and  com- 
plex inter-relationship  of  character  that  any  people  have 
ever  had. 

To  understand  the  people  of  Latin-America  we  must 
first  consider  the  influences  that  run  in  their  blood. 
They  are,  of  course,  completely  dominated  by  their 
heritage  from  Spain,  and  to  know  the  offspring  we  must 
study  the  curiously  complex  structure  of  the  parent 
nation.  No  country  since  the  world  began  ever  ap- 
proached Spain  as  a  melting-pot.  Shut  off  from 
Europe  of  the  early  and  middle  ages  by  the  Pyrenees, 
but  open  to  the  countries  of  the  near  east  and  of 


IN  LATIN-AIVIERICA  5 

northern  Africa,  the  Iberian  peninsula,  which  includes 
all  of  modern  Spain  and  Portugal,  became  a  sort  of 
fusing  point  where  east  met  west  and  where,  contrary 
to  Kipling,  the  twain  did  meet  and,  what  is  more,  amal- 
gamated. With  the  Mediterranean  as  a  pathway,  it  is 
little  wonder  that  ancient  Spain  became  the  terminal 
of  most  of  the  early  voyagers  whose  bravery  took  them 
all  over  the  inland  seas  but  who  stopped  short  of  the 
open  Atlantic.  Thus  Spain  was  for  centuries  the  fron- 
tier of  civilization,  and  even  after  the  Romans  estab- 
lished communication  between  their  country  and  ancient 
Britain  it  was  the  principal  half-way  station. 

To  examine  into  the  many  strains  that  now  flow  in 
the  blood  of  all  Spaniards  and  of  those  in  the  new 
world  who  have  descended  from  Spanish  ancestors  is 
to  study  the  history  of  modem  civilization,  commerce, 
exploration  and  discovery.  Spain's  present  decadence 
gives  no  hint  of  the  former  greatness  of  its  people,  any 
more  than  the  present  annual  crop  of  shoe-shine  artists 
and  peanut-stand  proprietors  that  come  to  our  shores 
from  the  Thracian  peninsula  gives  any  idea  of  the  glory 
that  once  was  Greece. 

Originally  inhabited  by  a  wild  and  barbarous  race 
called  Iberians,  Spain  was  overrun  at  least  half  a  dozen 
centuries  before  Christ  by  a  host  of  Celts,  who  crossed 
the  Pyrenees  and  conquered  the  original  owners,  al- 
though many  Celts  intermixed  with  the  Iberians  and 
both  races  dwelt  together.  On  the  south  and  east  coasts 
colonies  of  traders  from  the  eastern  end  of  the  Medi- 
terranean were  already  established  and  were  engaging 
in  a  flourishing  commerce  at  least  four  centuries  before 
the  opening  of  the  Christian  era.  Phoenicians,  Cartha- 
ginians and  Rhodians  were  all  represented  there,  and 


6  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

remained  until  206  B.C.,  when  the  Romans  took  posses- 
sion and  drove  the  others  out. 

In  409  A.D.,  after  more  than  six  centuries  during 
which  the  influences  which  Rome  brought  to  bear  on 
the  life  of  the  world,  and  which  can  be  observed  to  this 
day  in  Britain,  had  exerted  their  power  on  the  mixed 
race  which  then  occupied  the  peninsula,  a  vast  horde  of 
Alans,  Vandals  and  Suevi  fell  upon  the  peninsula,  com- 
ing again  by  way  of  the  Pyrenees.  These  energetic 
peoples  from  the  north  of  Europe  wrought  havoc  with 
the  work  of  the  former  owners,  but  three  years  later 
another  invasion  occurred,  this  time  by  the  Visigoths, 
which  was  destined  to  be  of  more  enduring  character. 
So  permanent  was  the  Visigoth  occupation  that  a 
Gothic  monarchy  was  established  and  functioned  in 
what  is  now  Catalonia. 

In  711  A.D.  appeared  the  first  of  the  marvelous  race 
that  was  to  dominate  Spanish  culture  for  many  cen- 
turies and  which  to-day,  in  fact,  lends  to  Spanish  life 
its  love  of  art,  color,  warmth  and  passion.  In  that  year 
the  Saracens  conquered  the  country,  coming  across  the 
narrow  straits  that  separated  Spain  from  Africa  and 
bringing  to  western  Europe  its  first  touch  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan art,  literature  and  science  which  had  placed 
the  Arabian  countries  centuries  in  advance  of  their 
Christian  neighbors. 

Then  followed  centuries  of  upheaval  throughout  the 
country  during  which  a  few  of  the  small  Christian 
kingdoms  managed  to  retain  a  precarious  existence, 
but  during  which  the  dominating  influence  everywhere 
was  undoubtedly  the  Moor.  The  Mohammedans  rejuv- 
enated Spanish  culture  and  gave  it  such  a  profound 
impetus  that  it  became  the  first  in  Europe.     The  im- 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  7 

press  which  they  left  on  the  lives  of  all  the  people  of 
the  peninsula  was  important  beyond  calculation  be- 
cause, in  spite  of  their  later  expulsion,  they  gave  to  the 
schools  of  the  country  a  culture  which  no  mere  theo- 
logical turnover  could  shatter  and  a  literature  which 
remains  to  this  day  the  greatest  of  its  time. 

The  power  of  the  Moors  was  finally  broken  in  1492, 
the  year  America  was  discovered,  although  their  expul- 
sion was  not  completed  for  another  two  or  three  decades. 
But  they  had  stayed  long  enough  to  plant  firmly  in  the 
blood  of  Spain  the  thirst  for  glory  and  for  gain  that 
resulted  during  the  next  century  in  bringing  practically 
all  of  the  new  world  under  Spanish  rule  and  which  to 
this  day  may  be  discerned  in  the  blood  of  Spanish- 
Americans  in  this  hemisphere.  In  the  cold  uplands  and 
in  the  mountainous  regions  of  Spain,  localities  which 
did  not  appeal  to  the  Moors  owing  to  their  being  accus- 
tomed to  warmer  climates,  the  inhabitants  preserved 
their  racial  integrity.  In  these  sections  of  Spain  the 
population  to  this  day  is  largely  composed  of  light 
haired,  blue  eyed  and  fair  skinned  people.  Although 
Spain  was  finally  expelled  from  the  mainland  of  this 
hemisphere  in  1826,  life  in  general  remains  as  much 
dominated  by  the  mother  country  as  if  the  political 
changes  had  not  been  made. 

It  is  clear  that  of  all  the  influences  which  have  had 
their  part  in  coloring  Spanish  life  and  the  Latin  tem- 
perament which  is  so  exclusively  the  Spaniard's  pos- 
session, the  Moors  supplied  the  most  important  and  the 
most  lasting.  There  is  a  warmth  in  the  Latin  make-up 
entirely  lacking  in  the  races  of  northern  Europe  and 
there  is  an  outlook  upon  life  which  gives  values  to  the 
things  of  the  flesh  and  the  spirit  far  different  from  those 


8  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

to  which  we  in  the  United  States  are  accustomed  or 
which  the  nations  north  of  the  Pyrenees  understand. 

When  we  consider  the  effect  which  Spanish  domina- 
tion exerted  over  the  millions  of  people  in  Latin-Amer- 
ica, we  find  further  complicating  factors  introduced  into 
our  study.  The  Spanish  explorers  found  a  race  of 
peaceful,  liberty-loving  and  reasonably  industrious 
Indians  over  most  of  the  territory  which  came  under 
their  rule  when  they  assumed  possession  of  South  and 
Central  America  and  the  islands  of  the  Caribbean.  In 
Mexico  they  found  one  of  the  most  cultured  and  highly 
developed  races  ever  seen  on  any  continent,  the  Aztecs. 
Aztec  life  may  be  compared  in  its  influence  on  the  other 
native  races  of  America  with  the  influence  of  the  Moor- 
ish invasion  on  Spain  and  southern  Europe.  In  Peru 
the  standard  of  civilization  was  exceptionally  high. 
The  race  which  inhabited  this  region  was  the  Chumus 
and  their  direct  descendants,  the  Incas,  whom  Pizarro 
found  when  his  expedition  reached  Peru  from  Panama 
in  1532,  were  perhaps  far  superior  to  their  ancestors. 
They  had  a  socialistic  form  of  government,  were  able 
engineers,  good  surgeons,  noted  agriculturists,  worked 
in  many  metals,  manufactured  glass,  understood  and 
practiced  embalming,  had  a  method  of  transmitting  mes- 
sages by  means  of  knots  tied  in  colored  yams,  wove  ex- 
cellent cloth,  and  were  truly  a  wonderful  people.  Few 
realize  that  it  is  to  these  early  inhabitants  of  Peru  that 
modem  medicine  is  indebted  for  such  drugs  as  quinine, 
cocaine,  antimony,  bismuth,  valerian,  nux  vomica,  tolu, 
and  jalap,  and  that  they  had  gone  so  far  in  the  use  of 
these  medicaments  as  to  crudely  standardize  the  strength 
of  the  drug  and  regulate  the  dosage. 

Efforts  of  the  Spanish  conquerors  to  enslave  the 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  9 

Indian  population  were  not  successful  in  any  perman- 
ent sense.  The  Indians  sickened  and  died,  or  deserted 
and  made  war  on  the  whites.  Black  races  from  Africa 
were  then  introduced  to  labor  in  mines  and  on  planta- 
tions throughout  Spanish  America,  but  thousands  were 
able  to  desert  to  the  jungle  and  join  the  Indians  while 
others  intermarried  and  thus  mingled  their  blood.  Con- 
tinued association  of  these  two  races  resulted,  natu- 
rally, in  a  hybrid  race  which  failed  to  combine  the 
best  qualities  of  either  parent  stock  and  throughout 
the  almost  entire  length  of  Latin-America,  excepting 
Argentina,  Uruguay  and  Chile,  to-day  many  of  the  lower 
classes,  or  peons,  show  traces  of  the  interbreeding  of  the 
black  race. 

As  time  went  on,  colonization  proceeded  and  a  grad- 
ual mixture  of  white  blood  with  the  red  and  black 
worked  its  influence  on  the  population.  This  process 
has  continued  to-day  among  all  classes,  comparatively 
few  of  the  white  Spaniards  of  Latin- America  being 
jealous  of  the  purity  of  their  blood.  Thus  we  have  one 
of  the  most  curiously  mixed  populations  anywhere  in 
the  world,  with  tendencies  running  from  the  highest 
ideals  of  European  and  Arabian  culture  to  the  depraved 
instincts  of  African  savages.  To  correctly  sense  the 
temperament  of  such  a  mixed  race  from  a  swivel -chair 
in  New  York  is  ridiculous.  Moreover,  it  is  tragic  for  the 
business  institution  which  plans  to  risk  any  of  its  funds 
on  such  a  diagnosis. 

There  is  no  short  road  to  understanding  the  Latin. 
He  is  much  too  complex  and  complicated  a  study  to  be 
approached  by  way  of  correspondence  school  methods, 
especially  by  those  who  are  trying  to  judge  him  by  the 
standards  of  life  and  character  prevalent  in  the  United 


10  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

States.  Only  by  close  personal  contact,  coupled  with 
observation  and  study,  can  any  man  honestly  say  that 
he  knows  the  people  of  Latin-America  and  is  qualified 
to  prescribe  the  methods  of  business-seeking  which  will 
meet  with  their  approval  and  will  result  profitably  to 
the  firm  or  individual  using  them. 

My  experience  as  a  physician  in  South  and  Central 
America  was  of  inestimable  value  to  me  when  I  under- 
took the  management  of  selling  campaigns  in  the  vari- 
ous Latin  republics.  There  is  an  undercurrent  or 
subconscious  state  of  mind  in  all  races  which  we  con- 
sider, also  subconsciously,  when  we  are  dealing  with 
people  of  our  own  countries,  because  their  subconscious 
feelings  and  motives  harmonize  more  or  less  with  our 
own,  but  when  we  undertake  to  deal  with  the  people  of 
other  races,  particularly  Latins,  we  fail  to  give  the 
required  amount  of  attention  to  the  long  series  of  eventa 
which  have  influenced  them  and  which  account  for 
many  things  which  appear  strange  and  incongruous  to 
outsiders.  That  is  one  potent  reason  for  considering 
the  many  elements  which  have  influenced  the  life  of 
Spain  and  which  continue,  with  further  interjected  fac- 
tors, to  influence  the  lives  of  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
speaking  peoples  on  the  American  continent. 

In  following  chapters  I  intend  calling  attention  to 
many  attempts  on  the  part  of  Americans  to  place  their 
products  before  the  people  of  Latin-America  which  have 
failed  completely  because  those  in  charge  of  these  adver- 
tising and  selling  campaigns  proceeded  blithely  on  the 
assumption  that  what  appeals  to  an  American  will 
appeal  to  a  Brazilian,  an  Argentinian  or  a  Chilean. 
"Human  nature  is  the  same  everywhere"  is  an  old  saw 
that  is  as  closely  packed  with  falsehood  as  any  equal 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  11 

number  of  words  that  could  be  put  together.  Human 
nature  is  not  the  same  everywhere.  It  differs  in  a  de- 
gree that  is  astonishing  and  that  can  only  be  truly  com- 
prehended by  those  who  have  traveled  widely  and  espe- 
cially by  those  who  have  attempted,  to  their  sorrow,  to 
apply  methods  which  have  been  successful  with  the 
so-called  human  nature  of  Americans  to  the  human 
nature  of  people  who  live  in  other  parts  of  the  world 
and  whose  every  interest  is  different  from  ours. 

It  may  be  said  that  other  exporting  nations  have  not 
made  the  mistake  of  judging  Latin- Americans  by  them- 
selves, but  this  would  only  be  true  in  a  negative  sense 
so  far  as  the  subjects  covered  by  this  book  are  con- 
cerned. The  British,  Germans,  French,  Belgians,  Ital- 
ians and  others  have  sought  and  won  business  in  South 
and  Central  America  in  active  competition  with  the 
rest  of  the  world,  but  they  have  never  attempted  any 
important  advertising  schemes  because  they  are  them- 
selves ignorant  of  the  great  principles  of  advertising, 
publicity  and  selling  which  have  attained  such  a  high 
degree  of  development  in  the  United  States.  The  thing 
which  gives  great  hope  for  the  development  of  American 
trade  in  Latin-America  is  the  growing  appreciation  of 
Americans  that  we  have  the  tool  in  our  possession  to" 
win  us  the  trade,  but  we  have  not  yet  learned  how  to 
use  it.  That  is  to  say,  we  are  the  greatest  advertisers 
in  the  world  and  the  only  nation  which  really  under- 
stands the  principles  of  advertising ;  what  we  must  now 
do  is  to  learn  by  careful  study  and  investigation  just 
how  to  apply  our  knowledge  in  Latin-America.  The 
great  system  of  advertising  now  existing  in  the  United 
States  did  not  come  into  being  at  one  time;  it  is  the 
result  of  long  study,  careful  experiment  and  the  expen- 


12  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

diture  of  untold  amounts  of  money.  But  it  finally  won 
out,  and  the  same  process,  applied  by  our  experts  to 
Latin-America,  reinforced  by  the  knowledge  and  experi- 
ence gained  in  the  United  States,  will  eventually  win 
for  us  among  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  speaking 
peoples  the  same  success  we  have  attained  at  home. 

The  foundation  stone  of  any  advertising  intended  for 
use  in  Latin- America  is  that  it  must  be  Latin  in  char- 
acter. That  means  that  regardless  of  who  supplies  the 
Idea  it  must  be  carried  out  by  a  mind  that  thinks  in  the 
same  mental  channels  as  the  people  to  whom  the  ad- 
vertising is  directed.  An  advertisement  written  in 
Brazil  for  insertion  in  the  "Saturday  Evening  Post"  as 
an  appeal  to  the  people  of  this  country  to  buy  some 
article  of  Brazilian  manufacture  would,  in  all  likeli- 
hood, excite  nothing  but  derision  and  would  fail  to 
justify  the  money  spent  for  the  space.  Why,  then, 
should  it  be  reasonable  to  suppose  that  an  advertisement 
written  in  New  York  to  be  printed  in  one  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro's  great  dailies  should  meet  with  any  other  fate 
among  the  cultured  classes  of  that  splendid  city  than  in 
the  first  case?  The  answer  is  obvious,  and  the  results 
in  dollars  and  cents  will  be  just  as  patent  to  any  adver- 
tiser who  makes  the  experiment. 

For  the  reason  just  stated,  the  truth  of  which  has 
been  demonstrated  many  times,  it  is  more  than  doubtful 
ethics  for  many  advertising  agencies  to  attempt  to  make 
clients  in  the  United  States  believe  that  it  can  give 
them  the  same  quality  of  service  in  Latin- America  that 
it  renders  in  the  United  States.  The  case  deserves  a 
stronger  term  than  doubtful  ethics;  downright  dishon- 
esty is  a  closer  characterization.  Any  advertising  man 
who  is  in  touch  with  the  Latin-American  field,  and  there 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  IB 

are  few  who  can  really  claim  to  be  that,  knows  that  the 
situation  is  an  intensely  complicated  and  difficult  one 
for  an  American  to  handle  and  that  mere  reliance  on 
methods  that  have  succeeded  in  the  United  States  will 
get  his  client  nowhere.  The  Latin- American  advertising 
situation  must  stand  on  its  own  feet,  be  approached 
from  its  own  individual  angles,  and  solved  as  an  entirely 
distinct  problem  from  any  that  are  met  with  in  the 
merchandising  campaigns  of  the  United  States. 

On  the  other  hand,  no  market  yields  more  readily  to 
proper  methods  than  that  of  Latin-America.  There 
is  no  more  fertile  trade-field  anywhere  in  the  world, 
population  and  purchasing  power  considered,  than  the 
various  republics  who  share  this  hemisphere  with  us. 
The  present  era  is  one  of  awakening  and  rejuvenation 
in  practically  every  country  south  of  our  Texas  border, 
and  the  opportunity  for  trade  and  national  service  i» 
unsurpassed.  To  point  out  the  methods  that  will  win, 
as  well  as  to  show  what  to  avoid,  will  be  the  purpose 
of  the  following  chapters  of  this  book.  The  field  is  one 
that  merits  the  closest  attention  and  most  persistent 
effort.  If  Americans  will  work  as  hard  for  the  develop- 
ment of  this  market  as  they  have  worked  in  building  up 
their  enormous  home  market,  success  will  be  assured. 

Perhaps  no  better  contrast  between  the  Latin-Amer- 
ican character  and  the  North  American  has  ever  been 
made  than  that  expressed  by  the  Hon.  Don  Frederico 
Alfonso  Pezet,  Ambassador  to  the  United  States  from 
Peru,  a  student  and  an  observer. 

In  his  book  "Contrast  in  the  Development  of  Nation- 
ality in  Anglo-American  and  Latin- American,"  he  says : 

As  the  news  of  the  discovery  of  the  New  World  invaded  the 
European  countries,  two  types  that  were  to  mold  the  destinies 


14  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

of  the  wonderlands  beyond  the  seas  were  brought  into  play;  the 
one  formed  of  the  oppressed  and  persecuted  by  religious  intoler- 
ance, the  other  of  the  adventurous  soldiers  of  fortune  in  quest  of 
gold  and  adventures. 

Both  of  these  started  out  with  set  purposes ;  the  oppressed  and 
persecuted  came  to  the  New  World  to  build  up  new  homes,  free 
from  all  the  troubles  left  behind;  while  the  adventurous  came 
bent  oh  destroying  and  carrying  away  everything  they  could  lay 
their  hands  on.  So  here  we  have  the  true  genesis  of  the  forma- 
tion of  nationality  in  Anglo-  and  Latin-America.  In  the  two 
great  classes,  the  permanent  and  the  temporary,  the  one  to  build 
up,  the  other  to  tear  down  and  destroy.  The  one  came  with  rev- 
erence, the  other  with  defiance ;  both  with  an  equally  set  purpose, 
but  the  one  with  humility  in  his  heart,  the  other  proud  and  over- 
bearing ;  the  one  full  of  tenderness  bom  of  his  religious  zeal,  the 
other  cruel  and  unscrupulous. 

Thus  we  find  that  Anglo-America  was  settled  by  austere  men 
seeking  religious  freedom,  men  who  were  fleeing  from  stated 
with  laws  prejudicial  to  their  beliefs  and  practices,  men  dissatis- 
fied with  the  political  conditions  in  their  own  countries,  who  did 
not  wish  to  go  so  far  as  to  sever  their  connection  entirely  with 
the  fatherland,  but  who  sought  in  the  new  colonies  ameliorated 
conditions  under  their  own  flag;  men  who  came  to  build  homea 
in  a  new  land,  eager  to  remain  because,  full  of  energy,  they  saw 
in  the  very  newness  of  the  land  the  great  opportunities  it  offered 
them  to  build  a  greater  commercial  and  political  future  for 
themselves.  Besides  these  good  elements  there  came,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  a  few  adventurous  outlaws,  and  others  attracted  to  the 
New  Land  by  the  prevalent  'Vanderlust"  of  the  times — ^the  lat- 
ter, a  decided  minority. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  Latin-America.  To  her  went  the  soldiers 
of  fortvme,  valiant  but  ignorant,  adventurous  and  daring,  yet 
unscrupulous.  They  came  principally  from  a  country  where  re- 
ligious bigotry  was  rampant.  They  were  an  admixture  of  vir- 
tues and  vices.  They  came  to  conquer,  to  fight  if  necessary; 
their  one  aim  was  to  better  their  lot,  regardless  of  by  what  means 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  Iff 

or  as  to  the  consequences.  The  companions  of  Pizarro,  Hernan- 
do Cortez,  de  Soto,  Almagro,  Pedrarias,  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa, 
were  in  marked  contrast  to  the  men  who  came  to  the  shores  of 
'New  England  with  the  Pilgrim  Fathers. 

To  us  came  the  militarists  seeking  a  field  for  new  exploits,  and 
in  their  wake  came  adventurous  outlaws,  seeking  gold  and  riches. 
Of  course,  there  also  came  some  good  men,  some  who  would  have 
been  willing  to  preserve  what  they  found,  but  these  were  a  mi- 
nority, and  besides,  the  existing  conditions  throughout  our  terri- 
tories prevented  this.  Because,  while  in  your  territory  there  were 
nothing  but  nomadic,  savage  and  semi-savage  tribes  without 
fixed  settlements,  in  our  territory  the  Spaniards  came  upon  or- 
ganized states  having  a  certain  civilization  of  their  own. 

So  we  have  it  that  in  Anglo-America  the  whites  arrived  and 
settled  peacefully,  acquiring  the  ownership  of  the  land  from  the 
native  Indians  either  by  right  of  purchase,  by  peaceful  treaty 
negotiations,  or  in  some  instances  by  forceful  occupation,  after 
actual  warfare  with  the  aborigines,  which  ended  vrith  the  con- 
quest of  the  land,  but  not  of  its  inhabitants,  who  in  each  case 
were  driven  westward. 

In  Latin-America  the  whites  came  as  a  militarily  organized 
force.  They  overran  the  countries  they  discovered,  fighting  their 
way  from  the  very  outset  right  into  the  heart  of  the  unknown 
territories  that  they  seized,  destroying  everything,  plundering 
wholesale  and  making  a  display  of  force  and  rare  indomitable 
courage  so  as  to  cower  the  astonished  natives.  In  Latin- America 
the  white  men  overthrew  the  native  governments  and  established 
themselves  as  the  governing  class,  reducing  the  Indian  to  a 
state  bordering  on  actual  slavery  that,  in  many  instances,  was 
slavery.  Every  cruelty  was  resorted  to  by  the  conquerors.  No 
pity  nor  mercy  was  ever  shown  unto  the  defenseless  tribes. 
From  the  very  first  it  was  a  question  of  asserting  his  superiority 
as  a  master,  and  making  the  Indian  feel  that  he  was  but  a  mere 
tool  in  his  master's  hands. 

From  the  foregoing  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  while  your 
territory  was  being  colonized,  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word. 


16  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

by  your  forefathers,  ours  was  being  conquered  by  the  white  man 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  most  detrimental  to  posterity. 

Now  let  us  glance  at  the  types  of  men  who  came  to  your  and 
to  our  sections  of  the  continent.  The  colonists  of  Anglo- 
America  came  from  those  countries  of  northwestern  Europe, 
where  there  was  the  greatest  freedom,  the  nearest  approach  to 
republican  institutions  and  government  of  the  people  and  by  the 
people  existent  at  the  time.  England,  Scotland  and  Wales,  the 
Netherlands,  French  Huguenots,  Scandinavians,  and  Germans 
were  the  stock  from  which  were  evolved  the  American  Colonies. 

The  conquerors  of  Latin-America  were  militarists  from  the 
most  absolute  monarchy  in  Western  Europe,  and  with  these 
soldiers  came  the  adventurers.  And  after  the  first  news  of  their 
wonderful  exploits  reached  the  mother  country,  and  the  first 
fruits  of  the  conquests  were  shown  in  Spain,  their  Most  Catholic 
Majesties,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  felt  it  their  duty  to  send 
to  the  new  kingdom  beyond  the  seas  learned  and  holy  monks  and 
friars,  men  of  science,  and  scions  of  noble  families.  With  these 
came  men  of  means  and  great  power  at  home.  They  brought 
with  them  a  very  large  clerical  force,  composed  mainly  of  young- 
er sons  of  the  upper  classes,  each  one  eager  to  obtain  a  sinecure, 
trusting  to  his  relatives  and  powerful  sponsors  to  better  hia 
condition  and  in  time  to  get  his  promotion  to  more  important 
and  more  lucrative  positions. 

It  was  a  veritable  army  of  bureaucrats,  of  office-seekers,  of 
penniless  and  spendthrift  young  men  that  overran  our  territory ; 
men  who  had  never  done  any  work  at  home;  men  who  by  rea- 
son of  birth  or  by  reason  of  the  conditions  existing  in  the  mother 
country  at  the  time  had  never  had  to  do  any  work;  men  whose 
one  and  only  ambition  was  a  high  salary,  because  they  had  never 
had  occasion  to  learn  a  profession  nor  to  earn  a  livlihood 
through  industry  and  toil. 

From  sources  so  widely  different  in  their  components  sprang 
the  Anglo-American  and  the  Latin-American.  Your  men 
formed  an  unmixed  mass  because,  although  being  of  divers  na- 
tionalities and  coming  from  divers  social  classes,  they  were  of 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  17 

pure  race  and  maintained  these  conditions  with  very  rare  ex- 
ceptions. Besides,  they  came  with  the  intent  of  bettering  them- 
selves by  becoming  independent  in  a  measure,  if  not  of  the  gov- 
ernment, at  least  of  the  laws  that  oppressed  them  at  home. 
They  came  determined  to  settle  down,  and  so  they  brought  their 
families  with  them  and  a  great  many  of  their  belongings,  and 
thus  from  the  very  beginning  they  established  homes  and  or- 
ganized properly  constituted  communities  of  workers. 

Our  men  did  not  bring  their  women  and  families  until  many 
years  after  the  Conquest.  In  consequence,  the  Spaniards  from 
the  very  conunencement  took  to  themselves  Indian  women  and 
their  offspring  became  the  "Mestizos,"  a  mixed  race  that  the 
haughty  and  pure  Castilians  in  Spain  never  countenanced,  al- 
though they  were  of  their  own  flesh  and  blood. 


CHAPTER  II 

Distrust  felt  by  Latins  for  the  United  States — Quality  markets  a 
South  American  characteristic — Methods  must  be  suited  to  each  coun- 
try— European  competition  active  again — Lack  of  good  printing  equip- 
ment— No  standardization  of  drugs — Overcoming  native  illiteracy — 
Billboard  advertising — Street-car  advertising. 

AMERICA,  in  its  foreign  trade  activities,  has  now 
reached  a  point  where  genuine  selling  ability 
must  be  called  into  play  if  results  are  to  be 
secured.  Since  1914  we  have  been  taking  orders.  Any- 
one can  do  that,  but  to  sell  goods  successfully  in  open 
competition  with  England,  Germany,  Belgium,  France, 
Italy  and  Japan  calls  for  real  knowledge  of  selling,  as- 
sisted by  the  best  aids  to  closing  business  that  our  com- 
mercial experts  are  able  to  devise. 

The  average  American  labors  under  a  curious  delu- 
sion. He  thinks  that  the  United  States  is  popular 
among  the  other  nations  of  the  world.  Particularly 
does  he  feel  this  way  in  regard  to  the  Latin-American 
republics.  Whole  sections  of  our  population,  especially 
in  those  parts  remote  from  the  seaboard,  think  that 
South  and  Central  Americans  look  upon  the  United 
States  as  their  friend  and  comforter.  Nothing  could  be 
further  from  the  truth.  The  fact  is  that  Latin-Ameri- 
cans as  a  rule  distrust  the  United  States,  and  salesmen 
from  this  country  find  a  barrier  existing  between  them 
and  their  prospective  customers  that  is  difficult  to  tear 
down  and  which  their  competitors  from  Europe  do  not 
have  to  face. 

18 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  19 

Thus  we  are  met  by  two  important  factors  in  which 
advertising  has  a  direct  part  to  play ;  must  play,  in  fact, 
if  we  are  to  remain  as  genuine  factors  in  the  field  of 
world  trade.  First,  we  find  our  competitors,  who  have 
been  out  of  the  race  for  five  years,  back  on  the  job  with 
offers  to  supply  goods  made  by  workers  receiving  much 
lower  wages  than  are  paid  in  the  United  States.  Second, 
we  are  confronted  by  an  intangible,  but  very  real  and 
troublesome,  psychological  factor  in  the  feeling  of  jeal- 
ous antagonism  resulting  from  misunderstanding  of  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  and  from  various  other  causes. 

Efficient  and  properly  planned  advertising  is  by  long 
odds  the  most  important  aid  to  business  which  North 
Americans  can  employ  in  Latin-America.  In  the  long 
run  quality  will  count,  and  many  Latin-American  mar- 
kets are  essentially  quality  markets.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  at  all  times  that  the  class  in  Latin- America  able 
to  buy  North  American  goods  is  very  much  smaller  than 
its  many  millions  of  people  would  seem  to  indicate. 
The  class  which  has  purchasing  power,  however,  insists 
on  the  best  of  everything  and  is  well  able  to  pay  for  it. 
Therefore  it  would  be  suicidal  for  Americans  to  sacrifice 
quality  to  price,  because  in  no  conceivable  circumstances 
shall  we  ever  be  able  to  compete  with  the  low  paid  labor 
of  Europe  and  Asia  in  quantity  production  of  cheap, 
flimsy  goods.  Our  appeal  must  always  be  based  on  the 
fact  that  our  goods  are  the  best  in  the  world  and,  accord- 
ingly, must  cost  the  most.  The  average  Latin  will 
always  be  flattered  by  the  tactful  assumption  on  the 
part  of  a  salesman  that  he  can  afford  the  very  best  the 
market  is  able  to  provide;  the  poorest  Latin  will  be 
insulted  and  repulsed  by  the  argument  that  he  should 


20  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

buy  an  article  because  it  is  cheap  and  hence  adapted  to 
his  pocketbook. 

Inasmuch  as  the  upper  classes,  to  whom  the  products 
of  the  United  States  must  largely  be  sold,  are  also  the 
classes  which  are  able  to  read  and  which  subscribe  to 
publications,  particularly  the  native  newspapers,  the 
ability  of  advertising  to  bring  about  a  favorable  feeling 
of  receptivity  for  our  goods  is  greatly  enhanced.  Up  to 
this  time,  however,  the  methods  used  by  business  houses 
to  bring  about  this  favorable  feeling  toward  their  goods 
have  not  come  anywhere  near  the  maximum  of  efficiency. 
We  have  relied  almost  entirely  on  the  great  American 
maxim  that  if  it  works  in  the  United  States,  it  ought  to 
work  anywhere  else.  The  falsity  of  this  has  been  dem- 
onstrated times  without  number,  but  nearly  every  new- 
comer in  the  foreign  trade  field  has  to  learn  it  over  again 
at  his  own  expense. 

Only  those  in  direct  touch  with  the  situation  in  Latin- 
America  are  cognizant  of  the  extent  to  which  the  indus- 
trial nations  of  Europe  have  "come  back"  and  are  offer- 
ing goods  in  the  foreign  markets  of  the  world.  There 
is  a  good  deal  printed  in  the  newspapers  of  an  optimistic 
character  about  continued  sales  of  American  goods 
abroad  and  great  stress  is  laid  on  the  fact  that  Germany 
up  to  this  time  has  not  pulled  herself  together  and 
again  started  her  dangerous  competition  in  the  markets 
of  the  world.  But  the  German  situation  is  almost  en- 
tirely due  to  the  inability  of  that  country  to  finance 
purchases  of  raw  material  from  which  finished  goods 
may  be  manufactured  and  sold,  a  condition  certain  to 
be  overcome  in  a  short  time.  This  drawback  is  one  that 
does  not  exist  in  the  case  of  Great  Britain  and  Japan, 
and  only  to  a  limited  degree  in  the  case  of  France,  Bel- 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  21 

gium  and  Italy.  England  and  Japan  have  more  capital 
than  they  ever  had.  Only  those  nations  which  had  to 
have  outside  financial  assistance  to  carry  on  the  war 
are  now  in  acute  monetary  difficulties;  the  rest  are  able 
to  purchase  supplies  of  raw  materials  in  the  United 
States,  the  Far  East,  South  America  and  other  great 
prime  markets  of  raw  materials  either  for  cash  or 
credit,  and  are  gradually  resuming  their  former  highly 
organized  condition  of  industrial  development. 

Everywhere  in  South  America  salesmen  of  German, 
British,  French  and  other  nationalities  are  busily  at 
work  rebuilding  the  trade  connections  which  existed 
before  1914.  In  many  cases  these  connections  had  ex- 
isted for  half  a  century  or  more  and  were  broken  not 
from  choice,  but  from  absolute  necessity.  What  reason 
is  there  for  believing  that  the  new  trade  connection  with 
American  firms  will  be  preferred  to  that  of  the  older 
European  one,  unless  some  undoubted  advantages  ac- 
crue to  the  South  American  merchant  from  sticking  to 
his  newer  principal?  The  answer  is  obvious.  There 
is  no  reason  for  so  believing,  and  the  old  connections 
will  be  renewed  unless  we  are  able  to  demonstrate  by 
the  quality  and  price  of  our  goods  to  the  dealer  and  by 
our  appeal  to  the  buying  public  through  correct  methods 
of  advertising  that  the  American  producer  and  Ameri- 
can goods  in  the  end  will  prove  most  satisfactory. 

A  careful  balancing  of  all  factors  involved  in  selling 
merchandise  in  Latin-America  may  reasonably  be  re- 
duced to  this  general  conclusion :  While  personal  feel- 
ing is  against  us  to  a  degree  little  appreciated  in  the 
United  States,  and  while  the  older  business  houses  espe- 
cially may  prefer  their  former  European  associates  to 
the  new  ones  made  in  the  United  States  during  the  war, 


22  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

the  high  quality  of  our  goods  and  the  influence  that  may 
be  exerted  on  the  Latin- American  public  through  adver- 
tising still  leaves  us  an  even  chance  for  the  business. 
It  is  with  the  last  factor,  advertising,  that  we  are  here 
concerned,  and  that  is  a  form  of  enterprise  in  which  we 
excel  the  world.  We  have  developed  advertising  to 
such  a  degree  that  to  compare  the  achievements  of  the 
United  States  with  those  of  any  other  nation  is  ludi- 
crous. The  difficulty  now  before  us  is  to  restrain  over- 
confidence  and  to  realize  that  because  a  method  has  suc- 
ceeded in  the  United  States  it  may  not  necessarily  be  the 
most  effective  with  Latin  peoples.  The  cheerful  point 
of  it  all  is  that  we  understand  this  effective  merchandis- 
ing weapon  better  than  any  other  nation  and  that  the 
proper  methods  of  application  to  the  Latin  temperament 
is  the  problem  now  before  us. 

It  is  true  that  the  application  of  proper  methods  to 
the  advertising  problems  met  with  in  South  and  Central 
America  involves,  in  many  cases,  physical  difficulties 
which  are  very  real,  very  onerous  and  sometimes  very 
expensive.  For  instance,  outside  of  Buenos  Aires,  Rio 
de  Janeiro  and  a  very  few  other  places,  printing  facil- 
ities are  woefully  below  those  to  be  found  in  any 
American  town  of  ten  thousand  or  more  inhabitants. 
Printing  machinery  has  to  be  imported,  and  as  it  is 
heavy,  the  freight  charges  are  high.  Moreover,  customs 
tariffs  in  many  countries  appear  almost  to  have  been 
framed  with  an  idea  to  the  exclusion  of  such  machinery, 
in  many  cases  practically  doubling  the  cost  of  a  press, 
folder  or  other  piece  of  equipment. 

Printing  is  the  business  which  above  almost  all  other 
mercantile  enterprises  calls  for  genuine  artistic  ability. 
Few  men  in  Latin- America  are  qualified  to  produce  the 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  23 

beautiful  advertising  matter  which  is  taken  as  a  matter 
of  course  in  the  United  States.  Trained  workmen  are 
hard  to  get,  the  average  Latin-American  printer  having 
no  more  knowledge  of  really  artistic  make-up  than  the 
small-town  American  printer  of  1870.  If  a  prospective 
advertiser  decided  to  have  his  advertising  matter  pre- 
pared in  the  United  States  and  then  shipped  to  South 
America  for  distribution,  he  wdll  in  most  instances  face 
a  back-breaking  customs  charge,  so  that  he  is  between 
the  devil  and  the  deep  sea  in  any  event. 

At  this  time,  however,  it  would  appear  that  the  most 
feasible  plan  is  to  prepare  the  matter  in  the  United 
States  and  then  ship  it  to  the  country  in  which  it  is  to 
be  used.  In  the  case  of  folders,  booklets,  posters,  signs 
and  the  like,  this  will  make  the  cost  relatively  high,  but 
even  so  it  is  greatly  to  be  doubted  if  any  saving  made 
by  using  South  American  printers  would  be  justified  by 
results.  Where  newspaper  copy  is  to  be  used,  and  this 
will  probably  make  up  the  bulk  of  the  advertising  done, 
mats,  plates,  cuts  or  some  device  which  will  eliminate 
the  eccentricities  of  Latin  printers  should  be  employed. 
The  point  that  as  little  matter  as  possible  should  be  left 
for  setting  in  South  America  cannot  be  too  strongly 
emphasized.  The  main  difficulty  seems  to  be  to  get  the 
advertiser  in  America  to  understand  that  while  the 
most  successful  advertising  can  be  mechanically  con- 
structed in  the  United  States,  it  must  be  laid  out  and 
written  by  minds  entirely  unbiased  by  what  have  come 
to  be  accepted  principles  of  advertising  in  this  country. 
The  average  American  is  slow  to  believe  that  any  one  can 
do  anything  better  than  an  American  can  do  it.  If  he 
can  once  disabuse  his  mind  on  this  point  so  far  as  the 
writing  of  advertisements  directed  at  Latin  minds  is 


24  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

concerned,  he  will  have  made  a  long  step  forward 
toward  success  in  reaching  the  buying  classes  of  half 
the  western  hemisphere.  Just  how  this  copy  should  be 
prepared  and  the  way  to  get  writers  qualified  to  prepare 
it  are  subjects  too  long  for  discussion  at  this  point,  but 
will  be  treated  in  later  chapters. 

In  my  trips  through  South  and  Central  America  I 
have  seen  advertising  matter  prepared  in  the  United 
States  for  use  in  other  countries  which  represented 
terrific  losses.  The  most  elemental  factors  are,  in  many 
cases,  entirely  overlooked.  A  traveler  gets  accustomed 
to  taking  many  things  for  granted  as  being  generally 
known,  but  the  number  of  ordinary  day-to-day  facts 
about  Latin-America  that  seem  completely  unknown  to 
many  men  who  are  seeking  to  do  business  in  South 
America  is  astonishing.  I  have  seen  canoes  and  rain- 
coats advertised  in  parts  of  Chile  and  elsewhere  where 
a  bull-frog  would  have  to  wait  forty  years  to  take  a 
bath  in  rain-water.  In  sections  of  Brazil  where  the 
nearest  artificial  ice-machine  was  probably  a  thousand 
miles  away  I  have  seen  expensive  folders  telling  the 
good  points  of  American  refrigerators. 

Probably  the  most  foolish  of  all  was  the  signboard  I 
once  saw  in  Venezuela  advertising  American  ready- 
made  clothes  of  a  well-known  brand.  The  fact  is  that 
such  a  high  tax  is  imposed  on  ready-made  clothing  by 
the  Venezuelan  tariff  laws  that  such  importations  are 
relatively  small.  Further,  the  climate  of  Venezuela 
makes  anything  but  the  lightest  clothing  superfluous, 
and  even  if  it  were  cooler,  the  number  of  people  able  to 
purchase  American  ready-made  clothing  is  almost  neg- 
ligible. It  cannot  be  too  strongly  reiterated  for  the 
benefit  of  American  business  men  that  Latin- Americans 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  25 

fall  into  two  classes.  Either  they  are  cultured,  well 
read,  of  considerable  financial  resources  and  buy  the 
best  the  world  affords,  or  they  are  of  the  peon  class, 
illiterate,  wretchedly  poor  and  without  the  means  to 
purchase  expensive  articles  or  the  knowledge  to  use 
them  when  acquired.  Obviously,  it  is  to  the  first  and 
smaller  class  that  the  bulk  of  American  advertising 
will  be  directed  and  there  will  be  no  place  for  American 
ready-made  clothing  in  the  wants  of  this  class. 

There  has  been  a  tendency  among  American  firms  to 
try  to  reach  dealers  through  such  advertising  copy  as 
is  used  in  the  technical  and  trade  publications  of  the 
United  States.  Such  a  policy  entirely  overlooks  the 
fact  that  in  South  America  trade  journals  are  almost 
wholly  lacking.  While  it  is  difficult  to  think  of  any 
line  of  business  in  the  United  States  which  does  not 
have  its  special  publication  filled  with  articles  of  value 
to  that  particular  line, — such  as  the  "Dry  Goods  Econ- 
omist," "Railway  Age,"  "Iron  Age,"  or  "American  Ex- 
porter,"— it  is  equally  difficult  to  think  of  any  line  in 
South  America  which  has  its  own  publication,  except 
perhaps  religious  and  medical  periodicals.  Trade  jour- 
nals have  been  a  development  of  the  organizations  in 
industry,  and  as  such  organizations  are  almost  entirely 
unknown  among  the  storekeepers  and  business  men  of 
Latin  America,  the  impetus  which  has  developed  trade 
journals  with  us  has  been  wholly  lacking. 

The  best  plan  is  to  concentrate  on  the  buying  public. 
If  intending  purchasers  can  be  persuaded  to  ask  for  a 
certain  advertised  article,  it  will  not  be  long  before 
dealers  will  carry  it  in  stock.  The  problem  confronting 
the  American  who  desires  to  do  business  in  this  part  of 
the  world  is  to  get  his  advertising  so  prepared  and  ap- 


26  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

plied  as  to  bring  about  an  impulse  to  buy  in  the  reader's 
mind-  By  solving  this  problem  he  will  extend  his  sales 
and  will  reduce  the  amount  he  will  otherwise  have  to 
spend  in  stimulating  sales  through  other  and  slower 
methods. 

The  first  requisite  to  success  in  advertising  to  the 
people  of  Latin  America  is  to  understand  how  deep- 
seated  are  the  causes  which  make  them  look  at  every- 
thing in  a  different  light  from  that  to  which  Anglo- 
Saxons  are  accustomed.  Most  countries  of  South  and 
Central  America  have  changed  but  little  in  three  hun- 
dred years.  Any  doubters  of  this  statement  ought  to 
visit  Lima,  the  capital  of  Peru,  or  La  Paz,  the  capital 
of  Bolivia.  A  trip  to  either  is  a  reversion  to  the  Middle 
Ages  and  will  impress  on  any  intending  advertiser  the 
necessity  to  adopt  methods  that  will  appeal  to  popula- 
tions of  primitive  minds,  rather  than  to  undertake  the 
monumental  task  of  educating  the  public  of  those  coun- 
tries up  to  North  American  standards. 

Another  profound  difference  between  our  civilization 
and  that  of  Latin- America  is  the  fact  that  all  these  re- 
publics do  business  under  the  Civil  Code,  the  laws  first 
promulgated  by  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  This  is  a  system 
of  jurisprudence  which  differs  in  every  essential  point 
from  the  common  law  on  which  our  legislation  and  cus- 
toms are  founded.  It  presumes  every  man  guilty  until 
proved  innocent,  always  puts  the  burden  of  proof  on  the 
reverse  of  where  it  would  be  in  the  United  States,  and 
is  enforced  with  a  long  series  of  precedents  utterly 
unlike  anything  of  which  we  have  knowledge  or  experi- 
ence in  this  country.  The  difficulty  which  American 
exporters  appear  to  have  in  understanding  certain 
things  which  occasionally  happen  to  their  goods  in 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  27 

South  America  is  due  to  their  ignorance  of  the  prolixi- 
ties of  this  alien  legal  code.  Here  again  is  an  excellent 
example  of  the  necessity  of  having  Latin-Americans 
cooperate  in  any  scheme  for  trade  or  advertising  expan- 
sion which  is  to  include  Latin-American  countries. 

It  is  pathetic  to  take  up  Latin-American  newspapers 
and  find  therein  advertised  medical  preparations  which 
can  be  made  up,  supposedly,  by  any  druggist.  The 
American  advertiser  blithely  took  it  for  granted  that 
the  druggists  of  South.  American  cities  had  the  same 
equipment,  the  same  stocks  of  basic  drugs,  the  same 
technical  knowledge  and  skill  of  modern  American 
pharmacists.  The  fact  is  that  in  all  South  American 
cities,  with  a  very  few  exceptions,  the  trade  of  the  apoth- 
ecary is  relatively  in  the  same  stage  that  it  was  when 
pharmacists  and  magicians  were  alike  looked  upon  with 
suspicion  and  when  both  classes  spent  most  of  their 
time  searching  for  the  elixir  of  eternal  youth.  Prac- 
tically all  South  American  druggists  make  their  own 
syrups,  elixirs,  tinctures  and  the  other  requirements  for 
compounding  prescriptions.  This  fact  makes  it  obvi- 
ously impossible  to  secure  any  uniformity  between  two 
stores,  and  the  careful  proportions  exacted  by  the 
United  States  Pharmacoepia  would  appear  an  insolv- 
able  puzzle  to  99  per  cent,  of  all  Latin-American  drug- 
gists. There  is  no  such  thing  as  standardization  of 
drugs  in  Latin-America  such  as  in  this  country. 

The  above  gives  a  clue  to  the  success  which  patent 
and  proprietary  medicines  have  had  in  Latin- America, 
but  the  French  manufacturers  have  always  won  the 
cream  of  the  business.  My  experience  as  a  physician 
in  Latin-America  gave  me  an  insight  into  the  business 
of  selling  remedies  which  was  rather  unique,  and  I 


28  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

have  never  failed  to  be  struck  with  admiration  at  the 
methods  of  the  French  in  selling  this  particular  line. 
They  always  led  all  other  countries  in  the  sale  of  medi- 
cine and  have  built  for  themselves  a  prestige  in  South 
America  which  can  probably  never  be  overcome. 

Among  the  most  ludicrous  errors  in  advertising  which 
I  have  ever  seen  have  been  those  which  assumed  the 
possession  of  heating-plants  in  South  American  cities. 
Although  many  of  these  cities  are  located  at  very  high 
altitudes  and  are  extremely  cold  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year,  modern  heating  systems  are  practically  un- 
known and  hot  water  plants  few  and  far  between.  The 
heating-stove,  which  would  be  taken  for  granted  as  part 
of  the  furnishing  of  the  most  meager  North  American 
home,  is  almost  a  stranger  in  South  America.  Spend- 
ing money  to  advertise  stoves,  ranges,  furnaces  and  hot 
water  heating  attachments  for  heating  and  cooking- 
stoves  under  such  circumstances  can  hardly  be  termed 
a  wise  proceeding,  but  I  have  seen  just  such  advertising 
in  at  least  four  different  countries  of  South  America. 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  Sao  Paulo,  Buenos  Aires  and  a  very- 
few  other  cities  in  South  America  have  some  streets 
which  are  evenly  enough  paved  and  provided  with  side- 
walks for  roller-skates  to  be  used.  The  rest  of  the  conti- 
nent is  almost  entirely  lacking  in  this  respect.  Never- 
theless, American  manufacturers  of  roller-skates  have 
spent  money  to  advertise  in  South  America  and  have 
written  thousands  of  letters  to  jobbers  and  wholesalers 
of  hardware  in  leading  Latin  cities  in  an  effort  to  secure 
orders  for  roller-skates. 

Too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  upon  the  question  of 
studying  a  foreign  market  from  every  angle  before 
spending  a  cent  in  an  advertising  campaign.     Many 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  29 

learn  this  after  their  money  has  been  wasted.  It  is 
extremely  difficult  to  convince  the  average  American 
that  his  line  will  not  sell  abroad  because  he  had  no 
trouble  in  introducing  it  in  the  United  States.  He  hates 
to  be  argued  out  of  this  false  notion. 

In  many  instances,  perhaps  because  of  low  standards 
of  living,  he  will  find  that  markets  are  closed  to  his 
class  of  goods,  or  he  may  ascertain  that  even  in  some 
communities  where  living  conditions  are  supposed  to  be 
tip  to  date,  other  things  militate  against  a  successful 
selling  campaign  for  his  product. 

Of  late  many  American  manufacturers  of  electrical 
labor-saving  devices  for  household  use  have  started 
advertising  their  wares  abroad  and  are  wondering  why 
their  efforts  have  brought  forth  relatively  small  results. 
Not  one  of  these  concerns  has  taken  into  consideration 
that  the  principal  factor  operating  against  the  use  of 
their  goods — for  example,  electric  ranges,  electric  heat- 
ing devices,  electric  irons,  electric  toasters,  electric 
carpet-sweepers,  electric  hair-curlers,  electrically  oper- 
ated washing-machines,  electric  foot-warmers — is  that 
at  present  there  are  an  extremely  limited  number  of 
houses  wired  for  electricity.  Besides,  the  average 
servant  abroad  is  far  less  intelligent  than  his  American 
equal,  and  in  attempting  to  use  the  electrical  device  he 
might  cause  damage  to  the  house  or  injury  to  himself. 
Even  where  establishments  are  equipped,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  get  the  average  householder  or  menial  to 
use  the  labor-saving  appliance.  Hence  the  small  de- 
mand for  such  articles.  Incidentally,  we  venture  it  as 
our  opinion  that  Europe,  Latin-America,  Asia,  Africa, 
Canada  and  Australia  will  not  for  fifty  years  to  come 


30  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

use  electricity  in  the  home  for  purposes  so  common  in 
this  country  to-day. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  question  that  all  kinds 
of  non-electrically  operated  household  labor-saving  de- 
vices ultimately  could  be  introduced  to  many  of  the 
housewives  of  other  lands  by  a  properly  conducted 
advertising  campaign.  The  countries  which  will  be  the 
first  to  accept  these  innovations  would  be  Canada, 
England,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  and  those  of  north- 
ern Europe.  In  other  lands,  and  more  especially  in 
Asia,  Africa  and  Latin-America,  where  there  is  a 
plethora  of  cheap  and  unskilled  labor,  another  century 
must  elapse  before  articles  of  that  nature  will  receive 
even  the  slightest  consideration.  The  average  American 
has  no  conception  how  cheap  man-power  is  in  many 
places.  This  was  vividly  impressed  upon  me  when  a 
Scotch  merchant  of  Bombay,  India,  bought  a  Studebaker 
two-horse  farm  wagon  for  delivery  purposes  and  pro- 
ceeded to  put  four  short  handles  on  the  shaft.  When  I 
intimated  to  him  that  the  handles  would  interfere  with 
the  horses  hauling  the  wagon,  he  replied,  "Man  dear, 
horses  cost  money  to  feed  and  keep  in  condition.  I  in- 
tend having  four  coolies  pull  this  wagon.  They  will 
feed  and  attend  to  themselves  for  four  annas  (eight 
cents)  each  per  diem  and  can  also  read  enough  to  deliver 
the  parcels."  And  this  same  situation  exists  throughout 
the  world.  With  labor  so  cheap,  it  must  be  apparent 
that  mechanical  labor-saving  devices  will  not  be  wel- 
comed hurriedly  in  many  localities. 

Problems  treated  by  climate  and  illiteracy  form  the 
primer  grades  in  one's  Latin-American  advertising  edu- 
cation. Until  a  thorough  understanding  of  these  two 
matters  is  gained,  little  benefit  is  apt  to  follow  the  un- 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  31 

wise  expenditure  of  money  for  advertising,  as  the  adver- 
tising methods  and  copy  must  be  so  devised  as  to  make 
full  allowance  for  these  two  problems.  It  will  surprise 
most  Americans  to  learn  that  there  are  fifty-four  Mexi- 
can cities  at  an  altitude  of  more  than  four  thousand  feet. 
Farther  south  the  heights  become  even  more  impressive, 
La  Paz,  Bolivia's  capital,  being  twelve  thousand  feet 
above  sea  level.  This  means,  of  course,  that  these  cities 
are  decidedly  chilly  at  night  in  the  summer  time  and 
extremely  cold  all  day  long  in  the  winter  time.  How 
much  popularity  is  likely  to  be  won  by  the  frothy  kind 
of  silk  nightwear  worn  by  the  better  class  of  women 
in  the  United  States?  A  woman  of  La  Paz  would  freeze 
to  death  in  the  night-clothing  worn  by  the  average 
American  woman.  What  she  needs  is  a  heavy  woolen 
nightgown  of  the  sort  we  put  on  children  who  sleep  in 
cold  rooms.  As  Americans  have  never  gone  after  this 
avenue  of  sales,  the  women,  even  of  the  better  classes, 
usually  wear  the  rough  night-clothing  bought  by  the 
yard  in  native  stores  and  made  up  for  wear  in  their  own 
households. 

Extremes  of  difference  are  the  rule  everywhere  in 
South  America,  and  nowhere  in  a  more  aggravated  form 
than  in  the  matter  of  altitude.  Just  as  more  people  live 
at  high  places  in  South  America,  so  do  vast  numbers 
live  along  the  sea  level  in  places  where  the  average 
American  would  soon  contract  fever  and  die.  In  these 
places  heat  is  the  rule  all  the  year  round.  La  Guaira, 
for  instance,  is  the  port  of  import  and  export  for  Vene- 
zuela's beautiful  capital  city,  Caracas.  It  is  a  fever- 
ridden  spot  where  the  sun  beats  down  and  life  is  a 
burden.    The  capital,  only  about  twenty-five  miles  away, 


32  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

is  high,  cool,  healthful,  and  an  altogether  delightful 
place. 

The  problem  of  illiteracy  is  the  one  with  which  the 
American  will  have  his  greatest  trouble  in  devising  an 
advertising  campaign.  It  seems  too  much  taken  for 
granted  in  this  country  that  every  one  in  Latin- America 
can  read  and  write  so  that  our  advertising  designers  are 
appalled  at  the  prospect  of  depending  upon  pictorial 
matter  alone.  An  index  to  the  illiteracy  of  Latin- Amer- 
ican countries  may  be  gained  from  the  fact  that  Guate- 
mala is  92  per  cent,  illiterate.  The  highest  of  all  Latin 
countries  is  Argentina,  54  per  cent,  of  whose  people  are 
classed  as  being  able  to  read  and  write.  This  figure 
must,  however,  be  taken  with  a  grain  of  salt.  The 
chances  are  that  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  is  much 
higher. 

The  answer  to  the  problems  raised  by  this  condition 
of  illiteracy  is  unquestionably  by  means  of  pictorial 
advertising.  Advertisers  who  were  in  the  field  long 
before  any  American  firms,  quickly  learned  that  the 
picture  is  tho  thing,  and  what  success  they  have  won 
is  due  to  a  recognition  of  that  fact  and  an  intelligent 
interpretation  of  the  psychology  of  the  native  mind. 
The  best  methods  of  using  posters,  cards,  picture-puz- 
zles, and  the  like,  will  be  more  thoroughly  gone  into  in 
later  chapters  of  this  work,  but  some  attention  should 
here  be  given  to  the  advertising  methods  used  out  of 
doors. 

Americans,  especially  those  who  travel  around  in 
automobiles  or  in  railway  cars,  often  derive  the  idea 
that  we  have  reduced  the  science  of  billboard  advertis- 
ing to  its  finest  possible  sense.  Such  is  not  the  fact. 
Almost  any  first  or  second  class  city  in  South  America 


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La  lintura  ideal  para  el  abello 

La  aparicidn  de  las  primeras 
canas,  no  es  siempre  indicio  de 
vcjez.  pero  si  tiende  a  quitarle  a 
uno  toda  apanencia  de  juventud. 


La:: 


CRomfiTinfi 


pcrmite    devolvcr   al    cabello    y   la 
barba  su  color  natural. 

Posec  una  inocuidad  absoluta. 

De  uso  sencillo.  No  tiene  los 
inconvcnientcs  de  otras  tinturas  se- 
meianles.  que  provocan  imtaciones 
del  cuero  cabelludo,  la  caida  del 
pcio  y  hasta  env.;nenamientos. 

No  conlienc  ninguna  sal  metaiica, 
como  sus  productos  similarcs. 

El  iinti  ei  lodis  lis  firaaclit 

I  pttliimenis  te  li  Ripibllci. 


^Amanecio  usted  de  mal  semblante? 
tSufre  de  desordcncsal  sistema  digestive? 


ORGANA 


Agua  mineral  purgante,  le  devolvera  la  saludi 

Pedidos  por  Mayor: 
lABORATORIO  SANINO  -  Casilla  34  -  VlfJA   DEL  MAR 


There  is  nothing  about 
this  picture  suggestive  of 
a  hair  dye,  yet  that  is 
what    is    being    advertised. 


Illustrations  are  seldom  associated  with  the 
text.  The  picture  shows  Margaret  Wycherly, 
the  well-known  actress,  while  the  text  an- 
nounces that  "Organa"  is  a  mineral-water 
purgative  good  for  the  health. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  33 

can  show  signboard  and  wall  advertising  in  much  great- 
er profusion  and  in  richer  illustration  and  color  than 
anything  known  in  this  country.  The  use  of  walls  is 
much  more  general  than  in  the  United  States,  for  the 
very  good  reason  that  Spanish  types  of  architecture  call 
for  walls  around  houses  and  buildings  to  a  much  greater 
extent  than  we  are  accustomed  to.  The  advertising 
space  thus  created  is  put  to  good  use  by  local  adver- 
tisers, but  the  typographical  character  of  the  average 
poster  used  is  of  a  very  low  order  and  there  is  little 
doubt  that  intelligent  study  of  such  advertising  by 
Americans  would  result  in  posters  for  this  purpose  that 
would  have  far  greater  pulling  power  than  the  ads  now 
being  used. 

To  take  advantage  of  such  advertising  media,  a  local 
representative  is  imperative.  These  walls,  scattered  far 
and  wide  in  the  neighborhood  of  every  important  city 
and  town,  as  a  rule  are  under  the  control  of  a  large 
number  of  fly-by-night  agents,  with  little  apparent  re- 
sources and  no  visible  means  of  support.  In  many  cases 
they  are  farmed  out  and  re-farmed  out  by  the  owners, 
and  graft  is  paid  to  a  host  of  impecunious  municipal 
officials,  police  officers  and  the  other  swarm  of  politi- 
cally supported  parasites  who  infest  Latin-American 
municipal  politics.  To  use  such  a  medium  by  means 
of  mail  instructions  is  clearly  out  of  the  question,  but 
the  value  of  the  walls  and  signboards  as  a  means  of 
getting  American  products  before  the  largest  part  of 
the  general  public  is  so  apparent  that  little  needs  to  be 
said  to  impress  the  advertiser  with  the  advantage  of 
arranging  with  a  reliable  local  representative  to  handle 
this  side  of  his  advertising  campaign. 

The  natives  of  South  America,  like  all  emotional  and 


^4  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

primitive  people,  are  fond  of  traveling.  It  is  not  so 
much  a  desire  to  go  somewhere  as  to  keep  on  the  move 
that  has  made  the  installation  of  street-railways  a  prof- 
itable venture  in  so  many  Latin-American  cities.  For 
that  reason,  cards  in  street-cars  and  along  street-car 
routes  are  especially  popular.  Street-car  cards  have 
perhaps  been  brought  to  a  higher  degree  of  artistic 
development  in  South  America  than  any  other  form  of 
advertising,  but  with  the  haphazardness  that  is  typical 
of  the  race,  the  cards  are  not  uniform  in  size  and  the  re- 
sult is  a  most  curious  hodgepodge  of  advertising  matter 
that  repels  the  unaccustomed  eye.  Coloring  of  car-cards 
has  been  brought  to  a  respectable  stage  of  development 
in  the  Argentine  Republic,  but  in  Brazil  it  is  necessary 
to  import  cards,  if  colors  are  to  be  used.  In  Brazil 
printing  has  not  attained  to  anything  like  the  point 
reached  in  Argentina  or  in  a  few  other  countries. 

The  street-cars  of  Rio,  in  particular,  are  of  value  as 
advertising  mediums,  because  the  passengers  are  divided 
into  two  classes.  The  better  class  of  passengers,  among 
whom  are  included  all  able  to  read  and  most  of  those 
whose  purchasing  power  is  worth  considering,  ride  in 
the  first  car,  in  which  the  car-cards  are  displayed.  The 
lower  classes,  who  comprise  an  element  in  the  city's 
population  of  so  poverty  stricken  a  character  that  no 
American  city  has  any  class  with  which  they  may  be 
compared,  ride  in  trailers.  Little  adyertising  is  at- 
tempted in  the  trailers,  and  any  expenditure  for  such  a 
purpose  would  be  largely  wasted. 

Rio  de  Janiero  has  a  population  of  1,200,000,  and  the 
street-car  system  operating  therein,  as  well  as  in  the 
surrounding  territory,  carry  in  its  five  hundred  cars 
approximately  500,000  passengers  a  day.     For  a  side 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  35 

space  in  each  car  of  34.75  by  53  centimeters  about 
twenty-five  cents  per  car,  per  month,  per  card  is  paid, 
or  flOO  for  the  full  run  of  all  cars  per  month.  Front 
spaces  24  by  43  centimeters  sell  for  double  the  price  of 
side  spaces.  Frames  suspended  from  the  roof,  21  by  107 
centimeters,  double-sided,  cost  $1.50  per  month  per  car. 
Outside  platform  spaces,  front  or  rear,  and  above  car- 
fenders,  45  by  70  centimeters,  cost  |5.00  per  space  per 
car  per  month. 

The  two  hundred  first-class  cars  of  Sao  Paulo,  with 
its  450,000  people,  will  carry  your  announcement  for 
the  same  rates  as  those  of  the  capital,  except  front  space, 
which  measures  35  by  59  centimeters  and  costs  $1.25 
per  month,  per  car,  per  card. 

The  very  excellent  electric  street-car  system  in  Buenos 
Aires  is  to  be  commended  for  its  advertising  value. 
These  surface  lines  carry  approximately  400,000,000^ 
people  yearly,  while  the  subway  in  operation  in  Buenos 
Aires  transports  annually  about  65,000,000  of  the  capi- 
tal's population.  Space  in  both  of  these  lines  is  in  much 
demand  and  is  sold  by  the  Compania  Argentina  de 
Publicidad,  of  Buenos  Aires,  which  controls  the  exclu- 
sive advertising  concession. 


CHAPTER  III 

Value  of  colored  posters — ^Popularity  of  pictures  of  women — ^Buying 
goods  merely  to  get  the  container — Concentration  on  pictorial  features 
— Method  of  buying  bill-posting  space — Slow  development  of  electrical 
signs — DiflBculties  in  connection  with  window  displays — Storekeepers 
follow  French  ideas. 

POSTERS  for  street  and  window  display  and 
hangers  for  indoor  purposes  have  always  proved 
good  advertising  mediums  throughout  Latin- 
America.  This  is  due  primarily  to  the  fact  that  the 
natives  of  all  classes  are  attracted  by  anything  printed 
in  colors.  Furthermore,  announcements  of  this  char- 
acter are  relatively  scarce  because  of  the  few  local  estab- 
lishments capable  of  producing  such  material,  for  be 
it  remembered  that  printing  and  the  arts  allied  thereto 
are  relatively  in  their  infancy  in  all  except  a  few  of  the 
larger  and  more  progressive  cities  of  this  section  of  the 
world.  In  addition  to  this,  most  Latin-American  re- 
publics levy  heavy  import  duties  on  propaganda  of  this 
nature,  so  that  colored  pictures,  chromos  and  the  like 
are  far  from  common  and  are  to  be  seen  only  in  the 
homes  of  the  wealthy,  which  very  naturally  gives  them 
an  additional  value  in  the  eyes  of  the  proletariat. 

As  evidence  of  the  high  appreciation  in  which  such 
display  cards  and  signs  are  held  let  me  give  two  illus- 
trations from  very  remote  portions  of  South  America. 
The  agent  for  a  North  American  patent  medicine  com- 
pany was  distributing  cards  from  house  to  house  and 
also  putting  up  posters  in  Puerto  Cabello,  Venezuela. 

36 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  37 

The  posters,  which  were  about  24  x  48  inches  and  de- 
signed in  three-color  work,  showed  a  man  with  a  fish  on 
his  back  and  contained  a  few  words  generally  indica- 
tive of  the  cures  which  it  was  claimed  the  mixture 
would  effect.  They  really  lacked  any  great  amount  of 
artistic  value  and  were  mere  gaudy  color  schemes.  De- 
spite this,  the  commandant  of  the  fort  which  faces  both 
the  city  and  the  entrance  to  the  harbor  sent  a  special 
messenger  to  the  representative  of  the  concern  and  re- 
quested that  he  be  given  several  posters.  The  American 
traveler,  with  characteristic  shrewdness,  appreciated 
the  situation  and  at  once  offered  to  cover  the  walls  of 
the  commandant's  living-quarters,  as  well  as  the  local 
garrison  offices,  with  the  hideous  sheets,  provided  he 
would  be  allowed  to  paste  as  many  as  possible  on  the 
outer  walls  of  the  fortifications.  Needless  to  state,  the 
concession  was  readily  granted.  The  Venezuelan  Gov- 
ernment was  thus  placed  in  the  position  of  officially 
recognizing  and  recommending  the  nostrum.  And  as 
a  further  evidence  of  the  complete  appreciation  of  the 
brave  soldier  in  charge  of  this  national  stronghold,  all 
guards  were  instructed  to  see  that  no  one  be  allowed 
to  deface  the  posters  so  conspicuously  in  evidence  every- 
where. 

This  same  American  medicine  firm  had  small  hangers 
resembling  a  willow  basket,  filled  with  highly  colored 
apples,  plums,  peaches,  pears,  grapes  and  other  fruits. 
To  my  knowledge  these  announcements  were  distrib- 
uted fully  fifteen  years  ago,  yet  on  my  last  trip  through 
Bolivia  I  saw  several  on  the  walls  of  Indian  huts  and 
the  houses  of  the  wealthy  and  better  classes.  Many 
also  were  to  be  seen  in  various  cantinas  and  in  the  rail- 
way stations,  especially  those  along  the  line  of  the 

153()S2 


38  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Trans-Andean  Railway  between  Santiago,  Chile  and 
Mendoza,  Argentina. 

In  designing  posters  and  hangers  for  this  trade,  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  better  class  of  Latin- 
Americans  appreciate  genuine  artistic  work  and  are 
particularly  sensitive  to  high-grade  coloring.  They  are 
relatively  in  a  minority  in  every  republic  south  of  the 
Rio  Grande,  however,  while  the  common  people,  in- 
tensely ignorant  and  overwhelmingly  in  the  majority, 
with  a  large  percentage  of  Indian  or  negro  blood  in 
their  veins,  are  strongly  appealed  to  by  the  most  vivid 
and  garish  of  colorings.  Therefore,  if  the  article  which 
you  propose  to  advertise  is  for  the  classes,  your  illus- 
trations should  possess  more  fineness  and  quality  than 
if  intended  for  the  masses. 

Perhaps  nothing  in  the  line  of  announcements  of  this 
type  appeals  more  strongly  to  the  Latin-American  of 
all  classes  than  the  female  form,  as  nude  as  possible. 
Due  to  the  fact  that  practically  all  of  the  inhabitants 
of  these  countries  are  of  the  brunette  type  and  more  or 
less  of  slender  physique,  their  preferences  are  decidedly 
for  blonds  of  robust  figure.  Taking  advantage  of  this 
phase  of  their  temperament,  excellent  results  were 
attained  for  an  American  mineral  water  which  uses  as 
its  trade-mark  Psyche  peering  into  a  spring  by  com- 
pletely disrobing  that  mythological  lady  and  adding 
materially  to  the  dimensions  of  her  breasts,  hips  and 
thighs.  This  suggestion  is  worthy  of  serious  considera- 
tion by  manufacturers  of  ladies'  underwear,  corsets, 
stockings,  shoes  and  the  like.  No  matter  how  liberal 
the  artist  may  be  with  his  colorings,  provided  of  course 
they  are  within  the  bounds  of  possibilities  and  his  re- 
production of  the  female  outline  within  the  realm  of 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  39 

decency,  there  need  be  no  fear  of  incurring  the  enmity 
of  any  Latin-American  of  either  sex  or  any  calling. 
Indeed,  I  have  frequently  seen  such  advertisements 
displayed  in  the  residences  of  the  priests  throughout 
the  land. 

Nothing  can  better  illustrate  the  value  of  highly 
colored  pictures  as  advertising  mediums  for  aboriginal 
minds  than  my  experience  with  the  American  Seedtape 
Company.  The  vegetable  seeds  put  up  by  this  concern 
were  packed  in  square  cartons,  with  a  colored  litho- 
graphic picture  of  the  vegetable  or  flower-seed  therein 
appearing  on  the  top  side  of  the  container.  We  began 
to  receive  repeat  orders  from  a  merchant  in  Bechuana- 
land,  Africa,  which  grew  larger  and  larger.  In  fact, 
they  were  entirely  out  of  proportion  to  the  purchasing 
power  of  the  almost  entirely  naked  inhabitants  of  that 
region,  who,  I  knew,  were  engaged  in  cattle-raising  and 
cultivating  maize  only,  relying  on  the  wild  fruits  and 
roots  of  the  country  for  their  diet.  Finally,  the  English 
trader  to  whom  we  had  been  selling  these  goods  came 
to  America  and  called  upon  us,  placing  an  extra  large 
order  for  immediate  shipment.  I  asked  him  if  the 
natives  had  changed  their  habits  and  now  cultivated 
vegetables  around  their  kraals. 

"Bless  you,  no,  old  chap,"  he  replied.  "I  hate  to  tell 
you  the  truth  about  your  seeds.  Not  one  of  them  is 
planted.  As  soon  as  the  native  purchases  a  package,  he 
opens  the  box  and  throws  the  contents  away.  The 
container  he  takes  to  his  hut,  where  it  is  placed  upon 
the  walls  as  an  adornment.  They  have  an  artistic  sense 
about  them,  too,  for  I  notice  that  the  flower-packages 
serve  as  the  upper  border  and  the  vegetables  form  the 
lower  portion  of  these  wall  decorations," 


40  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

I  believe  that  is  as  strong  an  argument  as  the  most 
pessimistic  advertiser  can  demand  in  favor  of  highly 
colored  advertising  materials  for  primitive  peoples. 

If  the  poster  or  hanger  can  graphically  tell  a  story 
which  will  be  understood  by  simple  minds,  its  effective- 
ness is  materially  enhanced.  I  distinctly  recall  one  used 
by  Wampole's  Wine  of  Cod  Liver  Oil  in  Latin- America, 
in  which  the  aid  of  the  deadly  parallel  column  was 
invoked.  I  have  always  considered  this  special  piece 
of  propaganda  without  a  peer  in  its  particular  field. 
Right  here  it  may  be  well  to  state  that  the  people  of 
South  and  Central  America  are  extensive  users  of  cod 
liver  oil  in  any  form,  one  well-known  brand  being  so 
famous  that  local  wags  claimed  that  babies  learned  to 
lisp  the  name  of  the  medicine  before  they  could  say 
"mama."  In  order  to  take  advantage  of  this  psychology 
and  to  profit  to  the  extreme  by  the  advertising  done  by 
this  preparation,  also  to  show  the  superior  qualities  of 
the  improved  article  having  no  disagreeable  odor  or 
taste  and  at  the  same  time  to  make  as  strong  an  appeal 
as  possible  to  the  untutored  individual,  pictures  were 
used  instead  of  text.  The  illiterate,  by  the  way,  form 
the  great  army  of  patent  medicine  buyers  the  world 
over.  The  story  thus  told  was  apparent  at  a  glance, 
even  to  the  Indians,  who  would  stand  in  front  of  the 
display  for  hours  discussing  it  and  the  lesson  it  had 
for  them. 

As  a  caption,  printed  in  heavy-face  type  across  the 
entire  top  of  the  sheet,  appeared  these  words,  in 
Spanish : 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  41 

PROGRESS  IS  THE  ORDER  OF  THE  DAY 
EVERYWHERE 

At  the  head  of  the  left-hand  column  was  a  picture  of 
an  old-time  stage-coach,  many  of  which  are  used  in 
Latin-America  to-day,  while  in  the  same  position  in 
the  upper  portion  of  the  right  column  was  a  modem 
locomotive.  Below  the  stage-coach  was  a  picture  of  an 
Indian  runner  holding  a  letter,  opposite  to  which  was 
a  reproduction  of  a  telegraph-line.  Then  came,  in 
regular  order,  a  tallow  candle  and  an  electric-light,  a 
quill  and  a  typewriter,  a  woman  sewing  by  hand  and 
another  operating  a  sewing-machine.  This  was  followed 
by  a  perfect  reproduction  of  the  well-known  emulsion 
of  cod  liver  oil  in  colors,  while  across  from  it  appeared 
a  facsimile  of  the  competitive  article,  the  modern  medi- 
cament. Beneath,  and  as  a  final  picture,  at  the  bottom 
of  the  left-hand  column  was  depicted  an  emaciated 
youth  making  a  wry  face  over  taking  the  medicine, 
while  below  the  right-hand  bottle  was  a  smiling,  well- 
developed  young  woman  of  substantial  attractiveness. 

It  will  be  noted  that  this  story  was  well  told  by  using 
objects  with  which  even  the  very  ignorant  among  the 
natives  were  more  or  less  familiar,  and  the  best  proof 
that  this  advertisement  "took  the  message  to  Garcia" 
was  the  fact  that  the  sales  of  the  emulsion  decreased, 
while  that  of  the  wine  increased  in  the  territory  wherein 
these  hangers  were  displayed.  There  is  not  a  single 
business  which  does  not  in  some  form  or  other  lend  itself 
to  this  method  of  public  appeal,  so  simple,  so  direct  and 
so  effective  in  convincingly  reaching  an  illiterate  people. 

It  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  in  most  Latin- American 
countries  bill-posting  hoardings  are  not  to  be  had,  and 


42  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

one  is  obliged  to  use  walls  of  houses  or  the  high  adobe 
fences  which  inclose  most  homes  in  this  region.  As  a 
rule,  there  is  seldom  any  objection  on  the  part  of  owners 
or  householders  to  this  procedure,  but  it  is  always  a 
sign  of  good  breeding  and  diplomacy  to  ask  permission 
of  the  occupant  before  putting  up  the  advertisement. 
In  ninety -nine  out  of  one  hundred  cases  the  request  will 
be  graciously  granted  and  the  poster  faithfully  guarded 
against  the  attacks  of  the  small  boy,  provided  the  head 
of  the  house  is  presented  with  a  little  souvenir,  if 
possible  in  the  shape  of  a  sample  of  the  article  that  is 
being  advertised. 

In  Buenos  Aires  the  municipality  provides  appro- 
priate display  spaces  along  the  principal  thoroughfares 
for  this  purpose.  These  are  so  much  in  demand  and 
are  so  popular  that  the  space  is  contracted  for  years 
in  advance,  and  one  may,  indeed,  consider  himself 
fortunate  if  he  gets  his  announcements  on  them.  In 
addition  to  insuring  the  posters  from  the  ravages  of 
the  street  gamin,  who  seems  to  find  special  joy  in 
defacing  such  propaganda,  the  fact  that  the  announce- 
ment appears  on  the  municipal  sign-boards,  to  a  certain 
extent,  places  the  government's  seal  of  approval  on  the 
article  thus  advertised. 

Many  Latin-American  municipalities  sell  or  lease  to 
some  local  individual,  generally  a  politician,  the  ex- 
clusive right  to  post  announcements  throughout  the 
city.  Infringements  of  any  kind  on  the  concession  thus 
given  usually  involve  the  responsible  one  in  serious  and 
annoying  difflculties  with  the  local  authorities,  who 
always  delight  in  mulcting  to  the  extreme  limit  any 
unfortunate  foreigner  who  comes  before  them  charged 
with  any  infraction  of  the  city  ordinances.    It  is  well, 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  43 

therefore,  before  advertising  by  this  method  in  any  city 
south  of  the  Rio  Grande  to  make  inquiries  as  to  the 
situation,  and,  if  it  is  ascertained  that  the  bill-posting 
rights  are  thus  held,  to  arrange  with  the  lessee  for  your 
display.  These  men  have  no  fixed  prices  for  the  priv- 
ilege, and  it  will  be  entirely  up  to  you  to  get  the  best 
terms  possible  by  the  usual  methods  in  vogue  in  these 
lands.  As  a  rule,  those  in  this  business  generally  are  in 
a  position  to  send  men  out  to  do  the  work  and  will 
contract  with  you  to  do  the  same.  Let  me  caution  my 
readers  that  all  work  should  be  carefully  checked  up 
before  payments  are  made,  for  the  native  bill-poster  is 
very  apt  to  take  half  the  sheets  to  his  home  for  domestic 
uses,  or  else  give  them  to  friends  or  passers-by,  instead 
of  displaying  them  on  hoardings  as  per  your  instruc- 
tions. 

As  indicative  of  the  complications  which  may  follow 
posting  a  town  wherein  a  native  holds  the  concession  for 
this  purpose,  let  me  relate  the  experiences  of  an  Ajneri- 
can  circus  that  billed  Lima,  Peru.  The  advance  man 
was  unfamiliar  with  local  conditions.  With  typical 
Yankee  energy  this  individual,  with  his  trained  poster- 
gang,  worked  all  night  in  the  Peruvian  capital.  Next 
morning  all  Lima  was  treated  to  the  modem  American 
way  in  which  circuses  herald  their  coming.  There  was 
not  a  wall,  curbstone,  or  other  point  of  vantage  on  which 
a  circus  advertisement  in  vivid  colors  did  not  appear. 
Content  with  his  work,  the  advance  man  went  to  the 
port  of  Callao,  nine  miles  from  Lima,  to  meet  the  ar- 
riving show  and  to  receive  the  commendation  of  his 
employer  for  his  efficiency.  But  he  was  horrified  to  see 
each  member  of  his  troupe  arrested  as  he  or  she  reached 
land,  and  every  horse  and  animal,  as  well  as  the  proprie- 


44  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

tors,  tents,  properties  and  accessories  were  attached. 
Inquiry  developed  the  fact  that  he  had  not  obtained 
permission  to  post  the  town  from  the  local  highbinder 
holding  the  right.  To  make  a  very  long  and  sad  story 
short,  it  took  thousands  of  dollars  to  pacify  the  out- 
raged feelings  of  the  injured  concessionaire,  in  addition 
to  mollifying  the  local  judge  and  police,  as  well  as 
the  petty  city  officials,  whereas  a  hundred  dollars  could 
easily  have  purchased  the  privilege  in  question. 

Some  countries  and  cities  also  tax  signs  in  proportion 
to  their  size,  the  same  to  be  paid  either  to  the  national 
government,  the  municipality,  or  to  the  local  concession 
holder.  This  custom  is  prevalent  in  many  Cuban  cities, 
Havana  being  notorious  for  its  fees  of  this  character. 
Numbers  on  houses,  the  names  of  firms  appearing  over 
places  of  business,  and  professional  and  door-  and  name- 
plates  are  included  in  this  category. 

Other  republics  and  commonwealths  of  Latin-America 
require  that  an  internal  revenue  stamp  be  affixed  to 
every  hanger  displayed,  no  matter  where,  the  tax  to  be 
paid  varying  with  the  dimension  of  the  sheet.  Before 
sending  announcements  of  this  nature  to  agents 
abroad,  inquiry  should  be  made  as  to  the  legal  require- 
ments and  the  stamps  designated  by  law  should  be 
obtained  and  affixed  thereto  prior  to  the  distribution 
of  the  same.  If  this  is  not  done,  the  recipient  will 
graciously  acknowledge  its  receipt,  properly  admire  the 
beauty  and  forcefulness  of  the  ad.,  promise  effusively 
to  display  it  in  the  most  prominent  part  of  his  place 
of  business — and  on  the  departure  of  your  representa- 
tive immediately  proceed  to  destroy  it. 

Generally  speaking,  posters,  hangers,  display  banners 
and  the  like  are  far  more  effective  for  advertising  pur- 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  45 

poses  in  Latin-America  and  the  West  Indies  than 
elsewhere.  Used  with  discretion  they  are  excellent 
supplemental  mediums  by  which  to  attract  the  public 
attention,  and  I  can  commend  them  most  heartily  to 
those  contemplating  an  extensive  advertising  campaign 
in  the  overseas  markets  under  discussion. 

The  electric-sign  has  not  been  extensively  used  for 
advertising  purposes  in  Latin-America,  the  West  and 
East  Indies,  Africa  and  Asia,  and  many  portions  of 
Europe,  especially  in  the  countries  of  the  Mediterranean 
Littoral  and  the  Balkan  States.  I  seriously  doubt  if  it 
will  form  an  important  adjunct  in  any  campaign  of 
propaganda  for  many  years  to  come.  There  are  many 
reasons  for  making  this  positive  statement. 

As  a  rule,  all  Latin-American  cities,  as  originally 
planned,  were  designed  to  resist  the  invasions  of  pirates, 
buccaneers  and  foreign  foes,  for  in  the  early  days  of 
these  colonies  of  Spain,  the  towns  of  South  and  Central 
America,  as  well  as  those  of  the  West  Indies  and  the 
islands  of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  including  those  laved  by 
the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  were  being  continually 
attacked  by  these  "unscrupulous  gentry  of  the  salt 
foam."  Consequently  almost  all  of  these  places  were 
built  more  compactly  than  the  cities  of  this  country,  and 
in  many  instances  the  streets  are  so  narrow  that  oppo- 
site neighbors  can  almost  shake  hands  from  their  balco- 
nies. These  restricted  thoroughfares  made  the  advance 
and  progress  of  invaders  diflflcult  and  the  residents  were 
able  to  attack  them  from  the  housetops,  a  condition 
which  would  not  be  true  had  the  streets  been  wide. 
Parks  and  plazas  are  few  and  the  approaches  to  them,  as 
a  rule,  are  narrow  and  tortuous ;  hence  the  visibility  of 
any  sign  is  materially  reduced — the  very  thing  to  be 


46  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

guarded  against  in  a  sign  of  this  character.  High  build- 
ings are  relatively  few.  Some  cities  have  recently 
erected  structures  modem  in  every  sense  of  the  word, 
but  they  do  not  afford  the  greatest  possibilities  for  elec- 
tric-signs, owing  to  the  nature  of  their  surroundings. 
In  other  words,  most  cities  of  Latin-America  do  not  offer 
the  proper  sites  for  such  displays. 

To-day  some  of  the  larger  capitals — Buenos  Aires 
and  Rio  de  Janeiro,  notably — have  undertaken  street 
improvements  which  to  a  great  extent  will  overcome 
some  of  the  faults  named,  but  such  work  is  confined  to 
rather  restricted  areas,  so  that  it  is  extremely  doubtful, 
assuming  that  a  good  location  could  be  secured,  if  the 
message  to  be  delivered  could  be  made  to  reach  the 
masses,  owing  to  the  fact  that  most  oT  these  regions 
at  present  are  relatively  isolated  and  therefore  inac- 
cessible to  those  to  whom  the  announcement  might 
appeal. 

Many  cities,  however,  are  ideally  situated  with  back- 
grounds provided  by  nature,  which  could  be  taken  ad- 
vantage of  for  electric  and  other  signs.  I  have  special 
reference  to  such  towns  as  Iquique,  Antofogasta,  and 
Valparaiso,  Chile.  There  are  many  other  similar  sites 
throughout  the  world  eagerly  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
the  man  of  vision.  The  towns  named  are  located  on  a 
strip  of  beach  facing  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Behind  them 
loom  in  majestic  impressiveness  the  Andes,  denuded  of 
trees  and  consisting  of  barren  red  rocks.  One  American 
firm  to  a  slight  degree  has  used  these  natural  billboards 
to  advertise  in  massive  white  letters  a  tea  it  sells.  These 
signs,  unfortunately,  can  only  be  seen  during  the  day. 
Their  efficiency  would  be  obviously  increased  one  hun- 
dred per  cent,  if  the  display  were  made  at  night  with 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  47 

electric-lights.  One  does  not  need  a  vivid  imagination 
to  appreciate  the  enormous  advertising  value  a  sign  of 
this  nature  would  have.  Located  thousands  of  feet 
above  a  town  it  would  be  visible  for  miles  at  sea,  as  well 
as  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  country,  espe- 
cially on  a  dark  night  when  it  would  appear  as  if  sus- 
pended from  the  heavens.  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil, 
Caracas,  Venezuela,  Bogota,  Colombia  and  La  Paz, 
Bolivia,  as  well  as  numerous  other  large  and  small 
towns  in  Mexico,  Central  America  and  South  America, 
thus  ofifer  excellent  natural  backgrounds  for  such  a 
purpose,  and  some  day  they  will  be  so  utilized. 

The  Latin-American  is  not  mechanically  inclined. 
Indeed,  it  has  been  truthfully  said  of  him  that  if  he  is 
put  to  work  at  a  machine,  he  will  either  break  the 
machine  or  the  machine  will  kill  him.  Perhaps  of  all 
the  people  of  the  universe  he  is  the  most  lacking  in 
mechanical  ingenuity,  which  may  be  corroborated  by 
the  scarcity  of  machine-shops  in  either  South  or  Central 
America  owned  or  operated  by  natives  and  the  further 
fact  that  the  records  of  the  United  States  Patent  Oflce 
show  but  few  patents  have  been  issued  to  those  living 
in  these  countries.  This  statement  is  generally  true  of 
all  primitive  people  and  applies  equally  well  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  less  advanced  nations  of  the  world. 
This  being  so,  it  follows  that  it  is  practically  impos- 
sible to  introduce  and  maintain  in  perfect  operation  the 
animated  electric  display-signs  so  common  in  American 
cities.  If  such  a  sign  were  installed  in  the  largest  and 
most  modern  Latin-Ameiican  city,  the  chances  are  that 
the  intricate  and  ingenious  mechanical  parts  would 
become  worn,  owing  to  climatic  conditions  and  rough 
handling.     It  would  then  fail     to  function,  and  it  is 


48  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

extremely  doubtful  if  any  local  native  mechanic  would 
be  able  to  repair  it,  though  the  value  of  such  an  an- 
nouncement depends  on  its  continuous  performance.  In 
addition,  the  problem  is  further  complicated  by  the  fact 
that  the  Latin-American  has  hardly  a  speaking  ac- 
quaintance with  electrically  operated  devices,  so  ex- 
tensively employed  in  this  class  of  advertisements. 
Furthermore,  most  of  these  countries  are  without  coal, 
and  this  fuel  for  both  heat  and  light  has  to  be  imported 
from  New  South  Wales,  Europe  or  the  United  States. 
Electrically  operated  signs,  granting  that  the  appro- 
priate location  might  be  secured  and  competent  me- 
chanics found,  for  this  reason  would  be  more  expensive 
than  conditions  would  warrant.  With  coal  at  fifty 
dollars  a  ton — a  normal  price  during  the  past  few  years 
in  some  of  the  larger  cities  to  the  south  of  the  United 
States — it  must  be  apparent  that  the  rate  per  hour  for 
electric  signboards  would  be  almost  prohibitive. 

When  an  electrical  advertising  device  could  be  used, 
I  suggest  that  a  fixed  sign  in  brilliant  colors  be  em- 
ployed, prominently  displaying  the  trade-mark.  The 
bright  colors  would  attract  attention  and  the  entire 
absence  of  mechanical  devices  and  intricate  mechanism 
eliminate  or  materially  reduce  the  possibility  of  putting 
the  same  out  of  commission.  A  few  such  announcements 
are  slowly  coming  into  use  in  Buenos  Aires  and  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  where  their  operation  with  comparative  ease 
and  success  is  in  great  measure  due  to  the  presence  of 
American  and  European  mechanics  in  these  cities. 

Undoubtedly  electrically  operated  window-signs  could 
be  made  a  very  valuable  adjunct  in  an  advertising  cam- 
paign. Their  value  would  be  materially  dependent  upon 
their  being  "fool  proof,"  compact,  durable  and  light,  so 


nsuR  Df 

1  RFLLEZR 

ou 

A  PEROLA  DA  BARCELONA 

(Privilegiada  por  SS.  MM.  RR.  da  Hespanha) 

deve  se    achar  em    todo    o    boudoir  das  se- 
nhoras  elegantes    e    que  prezam  a  sua  epi- 
derme.  Torna  a  pelle  alva  e  avelludada,  lira 
as  mancbas  e  da-llie  um  aspecto  encantador. 
E'  0  ENCANTO  DAS  SENHORAS 

E*ETR@LE© 
AMERI(?AN® 

Alcm  de  dar  bi'ilbo  aos  cabellos  e  de  tor- 
nal-os  inacios  e  crespos,  essa  lopao  e  infal- 
livel  para  combatpr  a  CASPA  e  evitar  a 
QUEDA  DOS  CABELLOS. 

Preparado  com  Kerozene  e  nao  com  ben- 
zina  ou  essencias  como  os  productos  simi- 
lares,  elle  e  por  isso  mesmo  mais  efficaz. 

Encontramse  a  venda  em  todas  as 
perfum  arias. 

imMiiummmmiimi 

SAO  PAULO 
Deposito:  RUA  TBEOPHILO  OTTONl,  102  --  RIO 

Latin-American  advertisements  are  replete  with  the  nude  female  form,  which 
appeals  strongly  to  all  classes  of  readers.  Due  to  the  fact  that  a  majority  of 
the  inhabitants  are  brunettes,  or  have  negro  or  Indian  blood  in  their  veins, 
the  blonde  exerts  a  stronger  appeal  to  their  imagination  and  for  that  reason 
should  be  employed  when  necessary  or  advisable  to  use  such  an  illustration. 


y^  !j  ^.■r^^,vi..i^iin,ui"i;i"'"'^ 


^«!'    t         t,t-,& 


Afio  VII 


Oet«bre    1 ."  dr    I 


monos 

Y 

monnofls 


La  Kmpresa  de  Tranvias  se  siente    feliz,  mootada  solire  nuestro  pueblo.  INo  se 
le  vaya  a  dar  vuelta  la  tortilla! 

F»rocio;    20    Cts. 


Another  illustration  of  the  ever-present  desire  to  exploit  the  female  form. 
The  cover  page  of  a  well-known  magazine,  showing  a  female,  partially  attired 
and  supposed  to  be  the  electric  street-railway  company,  astride  the  public. 
It  is  obvious  that  a  more  appropriate  illustration  could  have  been  created  for 
this  purpose. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  49 

as  to  be  easily  transported  and  to  lessen  freight  charges. 
As  a  rule,  the  customs  duties  assessed  against  such  me- 
diums are  very  heavy,  while  due  to  the  rough  handling 
the  machines  are  sure  to  receive,  the  mechanism  may 
be  disarranged  and  arrive  in  a  broken  condition.  In 
addition  to  these  objections,  the  storekeeper  displaying 
the  sign  will  be  under  continuous  expense  for  the  elec- 
tricity consumed,  and  the  charges  for  electricity  in  most 
Latin-American  countries  is  far  in  excess  of  the  rates 
paid  by  the  average  individual  in  this  country  or 
Europe.  For  these  reasons  it  will  be  found  extremely 
difficult  to  induce  merchants  to  accept  these  contriv- 
ances unless  they  are  landed  at  the  merchant's  store, 
duty,  freight  and  other  transporting  charges  paid.  It 
would  also  be  the  part  of  good  judgment  to  have  the 
representative  of  the  house  take  these  signs  with  him 
and  place  them  in  the  shop-windows  properly  connected 
and  ready  for  operation.  A  suitable  allowance,  for  very 
apparent  reasons,  preferably  in  goods,  should  be  made 
the  merchant  for  the  use  of  the  electric  current  neces- 
sary to  run  them.  Obviously  these  points  should  be 
thoroughly  considered  before  undertaking  to  adopt  such 
mediums. 

Of  recent  years  there  has  been  a  decided  tendency  to 
spend  money  in  painting  advertisements  on  the  walls 
and  sides  of  tall  buildings.  One  of  the  things  which 
operates  against  the  permanency  of  this  work  is  the 
construction  of  the  average  Latin-American  house, 
which  is  usually  of  adobe,  that  is,  sun  dried  mud,  over 
which  is  spread  a  thin  wash  of  lime  or  calcimine. 
Obviously,  a  sign  painted  on  such  a  background  is  not 
destined  to  last  long  and  usually  disappears  during  the 
rainy  season.    In  the  Argentine,  Brazil,  Uruguay  and 


50  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Chile,  where  the  buildings  are  of  more  modern  types,  the 
use  of  walls  offers  excellent  opportunities  for  such 
displays. 

There  are  few  sign-painters  of  genuine  merit  in  these 
lands,  and  the  announcements  which  they  put  upon  the 
walls  are  apt  to  be  out  of  perspective  and  poorly  exe- 
cuted, especially  as  to  the  lettering.  The  modern 
sign-artist,  so  numerous  in  this  country,  is  a  rara  avis 
in  Latin-America,  and  an  American  house  contemplat- 
ing such  propaganda  would  do  well  to  send  its  own 
American  painter  into  the  territory. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  noted  that  the  first 
step  in  this  class  of  work  is  to  secure  your  location, 
which  means  that  negotiations  must  be  conducted  with 
the  owner,  who  will  always  ask  ten  times  more  than  he 
ever  hopes  to  receive  for  the  space.  This  wearisome 
detail  having  been  accomplished,  in  many  cities  you  will 
be  obliged  to  consult  with  the  municipal  authorities 
and  the  individual  who  may  perhaps  own  this  particular 
concession.  Frequently  the  design  of  the  proposed 
announcement  must  be  submitted,  in  order  that  some 
grafting  city  employe  may  object  to  its  style  in  order 
to  have  his  palm  greased  with  silver.  The  aggravating 
situations  that  this  process  can  give  rise  to  are  hard 
to  portray  and  if  given  in  detail  would  be  almost  unbe- 
lievable, but  with  patience,  the  expenditure  of  money 
in  tips  and  graft,  and  after  wasting  considerable  time, 
the  final  objective  can  be  attained. 

Sites  around  railway  stations,  as  wall  as  the  walls  of 
the  station  yard,  are  usually  in  great  demand  for  this 
purpose.  The  time  will  come  when  this  specialty  of  the 
advertising  business  will  be  given  the  attention  it  re- 


'     IN  LATIN-AMERICA  51 

ceives  in  the  United  States,  but  for  the  present  it  is 
still  in  its  infancy. 

Nearly  all  the  railroad  stations,  large  and  small,  in 
the  big  cities  and  villages,  have  sign  boards,  owned  as 
a  rule  by  the  railway  company  on  which  space  is  rented 
to  those  desiring  to  advertise  their  goods  to  the  travel- 
ing public.  For  certain  classes  of  work  this  serves  an 
excellent  purpose,  and  undoubtedly  the  next  few  years 
will  see  a  remarkable  development  in  this  particular 
field. 

A  window  display,  such  as  we  understand  it  in  the 
United  States,  is  not  possible  in  the  majority  of  foreign 
countries  of  the  world.  In  the  warmer  climes,  where 
air  and  ventilation  is  a  prime  necessity,  store  fronts 
are  so  devised  that  they  may  be  rolled  up  during  the  day 
and  the  street  side  of  the  building  opened,  thereby 
precluding  the  opportunity  for  such  unique  methods  of 
showing  goods.  Furthermore,  window-dressing  of  the 
type  so  common  throughout  our  cities  and  towns  has 
not  yet  reached  the  stage  of  perfection  to  which  we  are 
accustomed. 

But  there  are  numerous  localities  where  window  dis- 
plays may  be  encouraged  and  which  are  worthy  of  con- 
sideration, among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  cooler 
lands  of  South  America,  such  as  Peru,  Bolivia,  Chile, 
Argentine,  Uruguay  and  parts  of  Brazil.  Some  at- 
tempts of  a  more  or  less  crude  nature  have  been  made 
along  these  lines  in  Buenos  Aires,  Santiago  (Chile)  and 
Rio  de  Janeiro.  The  thing  which  materially  operates 
to  retard  this  work  is  the  smallness  of  the  space  avail- 
able for  this  purpose,  for  few  stores  have  the  enormous 
windows  so  typical  of  North  American  shops.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  the  ordinary  "props,"  such  as  racks,  stands, 


52  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

forms  and  other  devices  so  necessary  to  the  window- 
dresser  to  make  his  work  a  thing  of  beauty,  are  lacking. 

In  this  connection  it  might  be  well  to  draw  my  read- 
er's attention  to  the  fact  that  in  many  overseas  countries 
climatic  conditions  operate  to  deteriorate  goods,  so  that 
good  business  judgment  warrants  the  storekeeper  in 
keeping  goods,  whether  they  be  cotton,  silk,  woolen,  or 
other  texture,  rolled  tightly  in  their  original  package 
and  further  protected  by  several  wrappings  of  thick 
paper,  only  displaying  them  to  possible  purchasers  when 
specifically  asked  to  do  so.  This  is  equally  true  of 
implements  of  metal  and  tools  which  are  liable  to  cor- 
rode or  rust,  which  are  similarly  protected  from  attack 
by  the  elements.  This  militates  to  some  extent  against 
extensive  and  lavish  displays  of  goods  and  adds  to  the 
complexity  of  the  problem,  even  where  there  is  a  desire 
to  display  wares. 

In  Latin-American  countries  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  there  is  a  strong  tendency  on  the  part  of 
native  and  European  merchants  to  adhere  closely  to  the 
French  ideas  of  store  management,  rather  than  to  those 
of  the  United  States.  As  a  consequence,  it  is  therefore 
extremely  doubtful  if  the  Latin-American  nations  will 
ever  adopt  the  department  store  idea  to  any  great  ex- 
tent. Instead,  the  specialty  shop  is  to  be  found  in  these 
lands  thriving  as  it  could  not  in  this  country.  My  lady 
goes  for  her  corsets  to  one  shop,  for  her  blouse  to  an- 
other, and  to  a  third  for  her  hosiery.  This  condition  of 
affairs  has  its  effect  on  the  lavish  window  display,  for 
these  specialty  stores  follow  the  Japanese  idea  of  exhib- 
iting only  one  gorgeous  garment  or  article  in  their 
windows,  in  the  hope  of  forcing  the  prospective  cus- 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  53 

tomer  to  concentrate  on  that  particular  thing  and 
appreciate  its  delicacy  and  appropriateness. 

On  the  other  hand,  window  displays,  if  properly  con- 
ducted where  opportunity  and  climatic  conditions  war- 
rant, might  lead  to  much  business,  primarily  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  Latin-American  daily  paper  is  seldom  used 
for  the  purpose  of  announcing  bargains,  as  are  Ameri- 
can periodicals.  "Bargain  counter  sales"  are  unknown 
in  most  lands,  and  the  merchants  in  overseas  markets 
who  first  introduce  this  method  of  attracting  customers 
cannot  but  add  immensely  to  their  incomes. 

Demonstration  sales  are  equally  unheard  of  and  offer 
an  easy  and  appropriate  means  for  bringing  manufac- 
turer and  customer  into  intimate  touch  with  each  other. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Undependable  circulation  figures — A  method  of  overcoming  this  evil 
— Make  the  plan  self-supporting — Scarcity  of  fine  printing — Rate  cards 
mean  nothing — Always  a  matter  for  personal  bargaining — Slow  payment 
of  bills  a  grievance — Placing  advertising  through  dealer  connections. 

OWING  to  the  practical  impossibility  of  getting 
satisfactory  statements  of  circulation  from 
Latin-American  publications,  especially  daily 
and  weekly  newspapers,  it  would  be  of  great  importance 
to  American  advertisers  if  some  plan  for  getting  an 
assured  and  guaranteed  circulation  could  be  found.  I 
believe  I  can  outline  such  a  plan.  There  is  nothing  to 
be  gained  in  spending  money  for  advertising  if  the 
policy  of  calling  a  spade  a  teaspoon  is  adopted.  The 
reasonable  way  is  to  face  the  truth,  which  is,  frankly 
speaking,  that  the  average  Latin-American  newspaper 
publisher,  with  a  very  few  exceptions,  does  business  on 
a  sliding  scale  of  morals  unlike  anything  known  in  this 
day  and  age  in  the  United  States.  The  only  way  to 
assure  yourself  of  the  truth  of  any  Latin-American 
newspaper  circulation  would  be  to  stand  by  the  presses 
while  they  printed  their  issue. 

But  if  a  plan  could  be  devised  that  would  seem  to 
contain  something  of  value  for  the  publisher  and  would 
make  it  worth  his  while  to  tell  the  truth,  some  very 
interesting  situations  would  be  shown.  There  are  about 
fifty  daily  papers  in  Latin-America  that  may  be  termed 
really  worthwhile  from  the  standpoint  of  the  advertiser 
in  the  United  States,  although  the  circulation  state- 

54 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  55 

ments  of  these  fifty  are  not  by  any  means  all  entitled 
to  the  same  degree  of  acceptance. 

My  suggestion  to  American  advertisers  seeking  a  way 
to  actually  get  the  circulation  they  pay  for  is  to  combine 
in  printing  a  high  grade  illustrated  Sunday  supplement, 
borrowing  some  of  the  ideas  of  the  rotogravure  brown 
supplements  issued  by  the  New  York  dailies  in  their 
Sunday  issues  and  some  of  the  features  that  have  made 
the  "patent  insides"  used  by  hundreds  of  American 
country  weeklies  a  success.  The  supplements  carried 
by  the  New  York  Sunday  issues  are  printed  on  fine 
paper  and  are  turned  out  by  a  very  expensive  process, 
but  the  advertising  rate  charged  for  copy  placed  in  that 
section  of  the  papers  is  large  and  returns  a  profit  to  the 
publishers. 

In  the  case  of  the  patents  sold  to  country  weeklies, 
great  economies  are  possible  because  of  the  large  scale 
on  which  they  are  produced  and  the  high  rate 
which  it  is  possible  to  charge  in  consequence.  It  does 
not  cost  much  to  keep  a  press  running  after  the  material 
has  been  put  into  type,  the  picture  plates  made  and 
everything  prepared  for  long  runs.  If  the  New  York 
dailies,  operating  in  close  competition  and  charging 
high  rates,  are  able  to  make  such  a  plan  successful,  it 
seems  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  similar  supplement 
supported  by  the  advertising  of  fifteen  or  twenty  Ameri- 
can firms  seeking  South  American  business  should  also 
be  successful,  particularly  in  view  of  the  opportunities 
for  disposing  of  such  supplements  to  the  worthwhile 
dailies  of  Latin-America.  The  only  alteration  neces- 
sary, in  most  cases,  would  be  the  change  of  name  on 
the  top  of  the  supplements. 

My  suggestion  would  be  to  place  a  high-class  man 


56  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

who  knows  his  business  and  who  knows  Latin-America 
at  the  head  of  such  an  enterprise  and  then  strive  to  make 
it  as  nearly  self-supporting  as  possible.  A  charge 
would  be  made  for  the  supplement  to  all  Latin-American 
papers  using  it.  Such  a  charge  would  go  part  of  the  way 
toward  paying  the  expense  of  production,  but  would  be 
less  than  the  Latin  publisher  could  produce  it  for  him- 
self, ignoring  the  obvious  fact  that  there  are  scarcely 
any  facilities  in  more  than  two  or  three  Latin- American 
cities  for  producing  such  a  supplement  at  any  price. 
The  Latin- American  publisher  would  not  buy  more  than 
he  actually  needed  for  his  weekly  distribution,  and  the 
total  of  sales  would  be  a  far  more  accurate  barometer  6f 
actual  South  American  newspaper  circulations  than 
anything  so  far  obtained. 

There  are  no  insurpassable  difficulties  against  such 
a  plan.  Dates  could  be  carefully  checked  in  advance, 
and  transportation  is  now  good  enough  to  guarantee 
the  delivery  of  the  supplements  within  a  reasonable 
length  of  time  in  all  the  principal  South  American 
cities.  The  personnel  in  charge  of  the  production  of 
such  a  supplement  necessarily  would  have  to  be  a  high- 
class  one.  The  typography  would  have  to  be  of  the  best 
and  the  text  and  pictures  such  as  would  never  offend 
the  better  classes  throughout  the  continent.  Such  men 
are  hard  to  find,  but  they  exist,  and  the  reduction  of 
overhead  advertising  expenses  by  the  firms  which  com- 
bined to  start  such  a  project  would  make  it  entirely 
possible  to  hire  the  best  talent  obtainable.  The  busi- 
ness manager  should  be  an  American,  but  all  the  rest  of 
the  staff  should  be  Spanish  and  Portuguese,  if  the  plan 
is  to  be  extended  to  Brazil. 

It  must  be  rememberd  that  "public  opinion"  in  Latin- 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  j57 

America  does  not  really  mean  public  opinion ;  it  means 
the  opinion  of  the  cultured  class  at  the  top.  It  has  been 
said  that  the  more  influential  a  South  American  news- 
paper becomes  the  smaller  its  circulation  ^ows,  be- 
cause it  tends  to  be  read  only  by  the  comparatively 
small  group  who  really  exercise  entire  control.  This 
is  the  real  reason  why  there  are  not  more  than  half  a 
dozen  or  so  dailies  with  more  than  100,000  circulation 
on  the  entire  South  American  continent,  while  25,000 
would  be  a  respectable  average  for  dozens  of  others 
claiming  from  four  to  ten  times  that  figure.  The  sup- 
plement plan  would  wring  out  the  water  in  these 
circulations  and  the  whole  enterprise  would  be  operated 
on  a  business-like  scale,  with  no  charges  except  for 
genuine  distribution  and  no  wasted  circulation  so  far 
as  the  supplements  themselves  are  concerned. 

Fine  printing  is  so  scarce  in  Latin-America  that  such 
a  well  conducted  supplement  should  achieve  undoubted 
success.  Its  main  necessity  would  be  to  get  the  right 
people  on  the  Spanish  side  of  its  staff  to  exercise  strict 
watch  over  the  text  columns  and  the  advertising  col- 
umns as  well.  So  far  as  the  last  mentioned  are  con- 
cerned, it  may  be  in  order  to  call  attention  to  the 
outstanding  difference  between  the  great  bulk  of  the 
advertising  used  in  North  America  and  the  contrasting 
field  in  South  America.  Three  quarters  of  all  the  ad- 
vertising copy  prepared  in  the  United  States  is  directed 
at  the  great  American  middle  class.  In  Latin- America 
there  is  no  such  class,  for  all  fall  into  the  upper  or 
lower  classes,  and  the  gulf  between  them  is  indeed  a 
great  one. 

Much  American  advertising  is  devoted  to  the  con- 
servation of  time  and  labor.     In  Latin-America  the 


58  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

passage  of  time  is  not  thought  of  as  it  is  with  us;  it 
appears  to  Latins  of  both  high  and  low  degree  that 
there  is  more  time  in  the  world  than  anything  else,  so 
why  worry  about  that?  As  to  saving  money,  they  have 
it  to  spend,  are  willing  to  spend  it,  and  want  the  best. 
That  is  why  it  would  be  exceedingly  unwise  to  attempt 
such  a  plan  as  I  have  tried  to  outline  here  without 
skilled  Latin  assistants  to  assure  the  project  against 
tactlessness  and  wasted  effort.  But  with  the  right 
people  to  guide  it  and  the  right  methods  of  securing 
distribution  it  ought  to  prove  a  powerful  stimulant  for 
sales  of  high  grade  articles  by  the  firms  that  would 
apply  for  advertising  space  in  it. 

Next  to  the  impossibility  of  securing  reliable  data 
on  circulation,  probably  nothing  connected  with  adver- 
tising in  Latin- America  is  so  aggravating  to  Americans 
as  the  matter  of  rates.  The  publications  of  the  United 
States,  after  a  long  period  during  which  rate  cards 
were  recognized  to  be  only  a  basis  on  which  to  start 
bargaining,  now  mean  what  they  say,  and  it  is  prac- 
tically impossible  in  the  case  of  nearly  all  reputable 
periodicals  to  obtain  any  concessions.  In  South  Amer- 
ica the  contrary  is  the  case.  Bargaining  is  dear  to  the 
Latin  heart.  A  settled,  definite  price  is  to  him  a  thing 
beyond  comprehension;  business,  to  his  mind,  is  the 
science  of  getting  all  one  can,  asking  all  that  the  traffic 
will  bear,  and  then  taking  the  best  that  can  be  had.  To 
name  a  settled  price  and  stick  to  it  would  mean,  to  his 
way  of  thinking,  the  possible  loss  of  a  substantial  profit 
in  some  cases  and  the  loss  of  business  in  other  cases. 
Anyway,  it  is  not  done. 

This  matter  of  rates  is  something  of  which  I  speak 
from  many  years  of  actual  experience  in  the  field. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  69 

During  the  long  period  in  which  I  placed  advertising 
copy  for  the  interests  I  represented  in  every  country 
in  South  America,  I  never  met  more  than  four  or  five 
newspaper  publishers  who  could  not  be  induced  to  shade 
their  first  price  for  advertising  space.  These  were 
owners  of  large  papers  in  leading  cities,  papers  that 
compare  favorably  with  our  own  first  class  dailies,  but 
in  every  other  case  I  found  that  the  most  profitable  way 
I  could  spend  my  time  was  to  dicker  and  bargain  for 
rates  and  positions. 

In  nearly  all  cases  throughout  South  America  the 
rates  for  advertising  inserted  from  abroad  are  higher 
than  for  space  purchased  on  the  spot.  This  even  in- 
cludes foreign  copy  placed  by  local  advertising  agencies. 
When  an  advertising  agent  in  a  South  American  city 
offers  a  piece  of  advertising  copy  to  his  local  paper,  it 
is  generally  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  foreign  rate 
will  be  charged  to  the  advertiser,  while  the  publisher 
and  the  local  agent  will  split  the  difference  between  the 
foreign  and  the  local  rate.  This  is  one  of  the  many 
reasons  why  I  have  always  advised  against  the  use  of 
advertising  agencies  for  making  contracts  with  South 
American  newspapers  in  all  cases  except  those  where 
the  volume  of  business  to  be  done  absolutely  precludes 
the  sending  of  a  personal  representative  of  the  adver- 
tiser. 

The  feeling  of  the  South  American  publisher  in  this 
matter  is  not  entirely  unjustified  and  is  largely  due  to 
the  long  delays  to  which  many  American  firms  subject 
their  advertising  bills.  In  the  past  many  firms  have  sent 
advertising  copy  to  South  America  with  instructions 
for  use  and  have  then  waited  for  proof  of  publication 
before  paying  the  bill.    Assuming  an  average  of  a  month 


60  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

for  the  publisher's  bill  and  a  copy  of  the  issue  in  which 
the  advertising  was  inserted  to  reach  the  United  States, 
and  a  month  for  the  advertiser's  remittance  to  reach 
South  America,  the  matter  becomes  almost  an  incident 
of  ancient  history  before  it  is  finally  cleared  up.  Not 
only  is  this  true,  but  many  firms  make  a  habit  of  paying 
advertising  bills  on  a  certain  day  of  the  month.  Under 
this  system,  if  a  bill  reached  a  firm  which  paid  its 
accounts  on  the  tenth  of  the  month  a  day  after  regular 
payment  date,  it  would  be  held  over  another  full  month 
before  the  check  would  be  sent.  Naturally,  such  a  sys- 
tem fails  to  win  many  friends  for  itself  among  pub- 
lishers. 

A  much  better  plan  is  available  in  all  cities  where 
branches  of  American  banks  are  located.  This  is  to  send 
the  order  and  the  copy  for  the  advertising  directly  to 
the  publishers  with  a  duplicate  letter  to  the  branch 
bank,  authorizing  it  to  pay  the  publisher's  bill  when 
presented.  This  plan  is  a  very  satisfactory  one  for  the 
publisher  and  usually  results  in  friendly  relations  for 
all  concerned,  but  it  fails  to  meet  the  great  initial 
difficulty  in  getting  a  satisfactory  rate.  However,  in 
cases  where  contracts  are  made  by  a  traveling  repre- 
sentative to  run  for  a  period  of  months  or  years  and  a 
satisfactory  rate  agreed  on  when  the  contract  is  made, 
the  system  for  paying  bills  works  very  well  and  the 
charges  of  the  banks  for  the  service  is  a  trivial  one. 

About  the  only  way  of  handling  the  general  run  of 
papers  throughout  South  America  is  to  adopt  the  tactics 
used  by  the  old  patent  medicine  companies  in  the  United 
States  in  the  days  when  every  country  weekly  or  small 
daily  was  liberally  filled  with  the  claims  of  various 
nostrums.    The  men  who  made  these  advertising  con- 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  61 

tracts  were  adepts  at  their  work  and  were  able  to  secure 
for  their  principals  a  rate  which  was  ridiculously  low 
when  compared  with  that  paid  by  the  general  advertiser. 
This  may  appear  at  first  sight  to  be  a  picayune  business 
for  an  American  business  house  to  engage  in,  but  it  is 
simply  another  proof  that  if  one  wants  to  do  business 
in  South  America  one  must  bend  one's  methods  to  those 
that  are  in  vogue  and  are  understood. 

Another  method  that  has  been  successful  in  the  case 
of  American  firms  with  old  established  and  dependable 
connections  with  local  firms  in  South  American  cities 
has  been  to  authorize  the  payment  of  advertising 
accounts  by  these  firms.  This  would  be  impracticable, 
however,  in  the  case  of  houses  just  entering  the  South 
American  field.  Many  concerns  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  doing  this  for  years,  and  in  some  cases  have  been 
able,  through  the  friendly  overtures  of  their  local  con- 
nections, to  get  as  satisfactory  a  rate  from  the  local 
papers  as  a  South  American  advertiser  would  receive. 

The  whole  question  of  rates  is  an  aggravating  and 
an  irritating  one  to  those  accustomed  to  rate  cards 
which  mean  what  they  say.  It  is  a  part  of  every  adver- 
tising campaign  that  must  be  known  fairly  accurately 
in  advance,  but  in  the  case  of  South  American  cam- 
paigns it  is  almost  impossible  to  calculate  beforehand 
how  much  such  space  will  cost.  Every  firm  will  find 
individual  problems  that  cannot  be  met  by  any  sweeping 
statement  or  general  enunciation  of  principles. 

In  connection  with  rates  and  the  method  of  paying 
bills  in  South  America,  some  consideration  should  be 
given  to  the  exchange  situation  which  has  existed 
between  the  United  States  and  all  South  American 
countries  for  some  time  and  which  is  likely  to  continue 


62  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

for  the  years  1922  and  1923.  Dollars  have  reached 
prohibitive  quotations  in  practically  all  Latin  coun- 
tries, which  means  that  an  American  advertiser  de- 
siring to  pay  a  bill  in  Buenos  Aires,  Rio  de  Janeiro  or 
any  other  South  American  city  is  able  to  buy  a  draft 
in  the  desired  currency  for  from  twenty  to  fifty  per  cent, 
less  than  if  exchange  were  at  normal.  In  most  cases 
this  will  more  than  offset  the  difference  charged  foreign 
advertisers  by  South  American  papers  in  cases  where 
the  publishers  prove  obdurate  and  refuse  to  grant 
reasonable  concessions.  It  is  another  reason  why  the 
advertising  of  American  goods  may  be  economically 
pushed  at  this  time. 


CHAPTER  V 

Possibilities  of  the  house  organ  in  Latin-America — It  offers  an  excel- 
lent opportunity  and  has  seldom  been  taken  advantage  of  by  American 
firms — Suggestions  as  to  its  make-up  and  management. 

I  HAVE  always  felt  that  American  firms  anxious  to 
build  up  permanent  sales  in  South  and  Central 
America  made  a  serious  mistake  by  eliminating 
the  use  of  their  house  organs  as  a  means  of  establishing 
and  maintaining  dealer  and  consumer  contact.  In  the 
United  States  the  house  organ  has  won  for  itself  a  firmly 
established  place.  There  are  many  big  business  insti- 
tutions to-day  that  would  reduce  almost  all  their  other 
advertising  appropriations  before  they  would  think  of 
cutting  down  on  their  house  organs,  realizing  that  by 
this  means  a  personal  touch  is  maintained  with  their 
dealers  and  customers  that  general  advertising  can 
never  give.  But  when  it  comes  to  foreign  service,  at 
least  in  countries  where  English  is  not  the  common  lan- 
guage, the  house  organ  seems  to  be  left  almost  entirely 
without  consideration. 

In  view  of  the  Latin  temperament,  there  are  many 
features  of  a  house  organ  that  could  be  made  exceed- 
ingly effective  in  South  America.  It  would  be  expen- 
sive, possibly,  so  far  as  printing  is  concerned,  but  I 
have  never  been  able  to  convince  myself  that  there  is 
any  form  of  advertising  where  money  could  be  spent  to 
better  effect.  The  services  of  a  good  translator  would 
be  necessary,  both  for  translating  matter  appearing  in 

63 


64  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

the  English  edition  of  the  firm's  house  organ  and  for 
proofreading  purposes,  but  it  would  be  money  well 
invested.  In  my  judgment  the  best  way  would  be  to 
reprint  in  a  Spanish  edition  all  the  contents  of  the 
English  edition  that  is  of  a  general  nature  and  then  to 
add  matter  sent  in  from  the  principal  Latin-American 
cities. 

The  average  Latin- American  dealer,  seeing  his  name 
and  some  complimentary  reference  to  himself  in  an 
American  house  organ,  would  feel  that  the  friendly 
statements  of  the  house  in  America  were  not  just 
buncombe,  but  were,  in  fact,  the  truth.  The  kind  of 
house  organs  that  I  have  in  mind  are  such  as  the 
"Burroughs  Clearing  House,"  published  by  the  Bur- 
roughs Adding  Machine  Company,  a  publication  which 
has  become  as  much  of  an  established  banking  journal 
as  the  old  financial  papers;  "The  Lamp,"  published  by 
the  Standard  Oil  Company ;  and  "The  Grace  Log,"  pub- 
lished by  W.  R.  Grace  &  Co.,  a  firm  with  wide  experience 
in  foreign  and  especially  Latin-American  business. 

If  periodicals  such  as  these,  with  extensive  depart- 
ments for  the  publication  of  personal  items  and  matters 
of  interest  concerning  Latin-Americans,  were  to  be  es- 
tablished and  circulated  throughout  the  towns  and  cities 
where  dealers  or  agencies  have  been  established,  I  am 
confident  that  the  investment  would  be  a  profitable  one. 
It  would  pay  not  only  in  immediate  returns,  but  also 
as  a  matter  of  insurance  against  the  time  sure  to  come 
when  European  goods  will  again  be  pushing  American, 
products  every  inch  of  the  way  throughout  Latin- 
America,  a  period  that  is  clearly  discernible  in  the  near 
future.  There  is  something  about  a  personal  message 
and  seeing  one's  name  in  print  that  makes  an  appeal 


The  United  States  is  always  belittled.  This  is  the  cover  of  "Caras  y 
Caretas,"  of  Buenos  Aires,  which  is  filled  with  American  advertisements. 
Its  attitude  is  strongly  anti-American.  The  American  eagle  is  shown  attacking 
Villa,  while  Wilson  approvingly  looks  on.  Notice  the  American  skulls  in  the 
picture  and  the  blood   on  Villa  from  the  wounded  eagle. 


I? 


(Ld'' 


Chile  tiene  4.000,000  de  habi- 
tantes  aproximadamente  y  esta 
comprobado  que  de  este  numero 
3.893,564  habitantes  consumen 
exclusivamente 

"TE  RATANPURO" 


.):::: 


pj^ 


}z^ 


mm!^^ 


—  jQu<  n«|oclo  1 

—  iPor  qu<7 

—  Porqu©  eon 


>  que  e.t&  •!    BZfjca 


los   cll«nt«s  Tftfi  a  cfter 


Advertisers  seldom  confine  themselves  to  the  truth.  The  advertisement  of 
an  American  firm  announces  that  out  of  the  4,000,000  inhabitants  of  Chile 
3,893,564  use  "Te   Ratanpuro."     Obviously,   this  is   not  so. 

The  lower  illustration  is  for  an  Argentine  vermouth.  Yet  99  per  cent,  of  the 
space  is  devoted  to  telling  the  abilities  of  the  local  letter-writer,  and  only  by  a 
microscope  and  the  exercise  of  patience  can  one  find  what  is  being  advertised. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  65 

to  nearly  all  human  beings,  in  high  station  or  low,  and 
it  solidifies  business  relations  to  an  astonishing  degree. 

There  are  very  few  American  business  houses  that  as 
yet  have  tried  what  I  have  attempted  to  outline.  The 
pioneers  in  such  a  work  ought  to  reap  large  rewards. 
A  start  may  be  said  to  have  been  made  by  The  Park- 
Union  Foreign  Bank  in  its  "Monthly  Bank  Letter" 
on  economic  and  business  conditions.  This  letter,  a  very 
large  number  of  which  are  distributed  in  English,  is 
also  translated  into  Spanish  and  French.  The  Spanish 
edition  is  distributed  through  the  bank's  Latin-Ameri- 
can branches  in  all  countries  except  Brazil,  where 
Portuguese  is  spoken,  but  where  the  educated  classes 
nearly  all  speak  French.  At  least,  if  they  do  not  speak 
French  they  are  highly  complimented  to  have  it  as- 
sumed that  they  do.  These  two  foreign-language  letters 
are  carefully  read  by  the  individuals  who  receive  them 
and  carry  to  the  Latin  reader  the  conviction  that  the 
bank  must  be  very  anxious  to  secure  the  good  will  of 
the  Latin  peoples  to  go  to  so  much  trouble  and  expense, 
which  is,  of  course,  the  result  which  any  such  project 
is  intended  to  secure. 

The  success  of  several  foreign  exporting  nations  be- 
fore the  war,  particularly  in  the  case  of  Germany,  was 
largely  based  on  the  close  personal  relations  which  their 
exporters  and  manufacturers  were  careful  to  maintain 
with  their  customers  in  the  consuming  countries. 
Americans  have  been  able  to  produce  and  sell  better 
goods  than  their  competitors,  but  as  yet  they  have  not 
been  especially  successful  in  establishing  the  close 
feeling  of  personal  regard  and  friendship  which  all 
foreigners,  but  especially  the  Latin  peoples,  regard  so 
highly.    I  am  confident  that  the  house  organs  in  Spanish 


66  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

could  be  made  a  most  effective  instrument  in  bringing 
about  the  closer  relations  between  buyer  and  seller 
which  would  be  such  a  wholesome  addition  to  the  for- 
eign trade  of  the  United  States.  At  any  rate,  it  is  much 
more  worthy  of  trial  than  many  of  the  advertising  ex- 
periments which  are  constantly  being  tried  and  which 
the  experienced  advertising  man  is  almost  certain  in 
his  heart  are  foredoomed  to  failure. 

A  few  good  starts  of  this  sort  have  already  been 
made,  among  which  I  believe  the  best-thought-out  and 
most  intelligently  conducted  house  organ  is  that  of  the 
National  Paper  and  Type  Company  of  New  York.  This 
company  is  well  established  in  the  South  American  field 
and  its  paper  and  printing  supplies  have  won  a  high 
reputation  for  themselves.  It  maintains  offtces  in 
Argentina,  Uruguay,  Peru,  Cuba  and  Mexico,  besides 
having  representatives  in  all  other  important  Latin- 
American  centers. 

The  house  organ  which  this  firm  puts  out  in  Spanish 
is  called  ^^El  Arte  Tipogra^co"  or  "The  Typographical 
Art,"  and  it  fully  lives  up  to  its  name,  being  one  of  the 
finest  examples  of  modem  printing  and  binding  in  its 
class.  Interesting  articles  are  printed  which  have  a 
direct  tendency  to  raise  the  standard  of  printing 
throughout  the  territory  in  which  the  firm  sells  its 
goods,  and  the  illustrations  are  excellent.  Color  work 
of  the  finest  kind  is  reproduced,  to  show  what  is  possible 
with  good  equipment.  Inserts  of  various  grades  of 
paper  are  put  in,  as  is  the  custom  with  printing  trade 
publications  in  the  United  States. 

The  cost  of  getting  out  such  a  fine  house  organ  as 
this  would  probably  be  prohibitive,  except  for  the  fact 
that  advertisements  are  carried  of  the  various  products 


IN  LATIK-AMERICA  67 

sold  by  the  firm  in  South  America.  It  acts  as  export 
representative  for  many  standard  lines  sold  to  printers 
and  to  newspapers,  and  many  of  these  goods  are  adver- 
tised in  the  house  organ.  The  fact  that  this  interesting 
and  beautiful  publication  is  now  in  its  eighteenth 
volume  is  the  best  proof  of  the  character  of  the  invest- 
ment it  represents. 

So  far  as  the  general  subject  of  house  organs  is  con- 
cerned, especially  in  the  case  of  firms  doing  business 
all  over  the  world  which  do  not  feel  justified  in  in- 
curring the  expense  of  getting  out  a  special  edition  in 
Spanish,  the  following  remarks  from  a  well  known 
Cleveland  manufacturer  regarding  the  experience  of 
his  firm  with  a  widely  circulated  house  organ  will  be 
of  interest.    He  says: 

Our  circulation  of  "Drill  Chips"  in  the  foreign  field  mna 
close  to  five  thousand.  The  countries  covered  are  Australia,  N'e'W 
Zealand,  South  Africa,  England,  France,  Italy,  South  and  Cen- 
tral America,  Germany,  Eussia,  Cuba,  Japan  and  China.  Mex- 
ico is  also  liberally  represented.  The  vast  bulk  of  our  foreign 
circulation  is,  of  course,  in  the  English-speaking  countries.  In 
the  non-English-speaking  countries,  however,  it  is  regarded  as  a 
pleasant  curiosity  and  is  seemingly  pretty  well  hked. 

In  these  various  English-speaking  countries  "Drill  Chips"  ap- 
pears to  be  very  popular  as  the  expression  of  the  thoughts  of  a 
large  manufacturer  in  the  United  States.  It  is  only  of  our  suc- 
cess in  these  countries  that  I  can  speak  with  authority,  although 
we  have  plenty  of  evidence  of  the  magazine's  popularity  else- 
where. In  these  English-speaking  countries  "Drill  Chips"  is 
well  read  and  the  nature  of  its  editorial  contents  seems  to  be 
something  of  a  curiosity  to  our  English  and  Australian  friends. 

As  you  know,  our  editorial  policy  is  to  mix  near-humor  and 
sober  thought.  The  Englishmen  throughout  the  world  have  a 
terrible  time  with  Americai^  humor.     They  occasionally  write 


68  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

us  or  inquire  through  our  representatives  if  our  cartoons  of 
American  home  life  are  true  representations  thereof.  But  the 
serious  articles  seem  to  go  pretty  well  with  them,  and  from  the 
evidence  at  hand  I  should  say  that  the  publication  is  taken  much 
more  seriously  abroad  than  it  is  in  this  country,  where  house 
organs  are  so  plentiful. 

As  to  net  tangible  results — orders.  To  my  knowledge,  "Drill 
Chips"  has  only  produced  three  direct  orders.  It  is  not  de- 
signed for  this  purpose,  and  I  doubt  very  much  whether  any 
house  organ  can  ever  be  a  direct  producer  of  orders  in  any  field 
or  country.  The  purpose  of  a  house  organ  is  to  build  up  a  feel- 
ing of  friendship  and  acquaintance  with  the  trade.  To  use  ad- 
vertising parlance,  a  house  organ  can  create  interest  and  pos- 
sibly a  mild  form  of  desire.  On  occasion  it  can  be  forced  over 
the  line  to  produce  an  order,  but  we  work  on  the  principle  that 
its  sole  function  is  to  create  friendship  for  us  and  our  goods. 

In  the  foreign  field  we  have  ample  evidence  in  the  nature  of 
letters  and  comments  to  our  representatives  to  justify  our  feel- 
ing that  "Drill  Chips"  is  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  effective  as  it  is 
at  home.  We  feel  that  it  is  giving  our  concern  a  personality 
in  the  foreign  field  and  presents  a  much  better  bird's-eye  of 
the  human  side  of  our  business  than  ten  thousand  self-confessed 
advertisements  showing  a  bird's-eye  view  of  our  "million  acre" 
factory,  etc. 

I  think  there  is  an  opportunity  for  you  to  point  out  that  a 
house  organ  in  the  foreign  field  should  not  be  expected  to  pro- 
duce an  influx  of  non-cancelable  orders  with  cash  at  ihe  dock 
in  J!^ew  York  attached  thereto.  I  do  feel  that  a  good  house  organ 
abroad,  the  same  as  at  home,  can  give  a  concern  a  personality 
and  an  entity  such  as  no  other  form  of  advertising  can  bring  to- 
day, and  this  influence  is  just  as  valuable  abroad  as  it  is  at  home. 

This  writer  hit  the  nail  on  the  head  when  he  said  that 
a  house  organ's  chief  purpose  is  to  give  the  business 
that  issues  it  a  personality  in  the  foreign  field.    That  is 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  69 

the  exact  point  on  which  too  many  American  business 
institutions  are  weak,  and  one  of  the  very  best  agencies 
by  which  this  can  be  corrected  is  the  intelligently  edited 
house  organ. 


CHAPTER  VI 

The  mud-slinging  European — The  British  and  the  Germans  are  par- 
ticularly active  in  attacking  American  goods  and  methods — Examples 
of  this  practice — The  yellow  press  of  Latin-America  and  its  bitterness 
toward  the  United  States — How  to  combat  these  unwarranted  attacks. 

NOW  that  such  a  tremendous  change  has  oc- 
curred in  the  world's  business,  following  the 
great  price  slump  and  the  general  readjust- 
ment of  world  affairs,  the  campaigns  against  American 
goods  in  foreign  markets  has  been  renewed  with  increas- 
ing virulence.  These  campaigns  include  not  only 
American  goods,  but  Americans  personally,  and  they 
have  a  far-reaching  scope  and  the  capacity  for  almost 
illimitable  damage. 

In  the  first  place,  the  British  can  always  be  relied 
upon  to  throw  mud  on  Americans  and  everything 
American  at  every  possible  opportunity,  and  opportu- 
nities come  often  when  one  devotes  much  time  to 
manufacturing  them.  The  universal  foreign  attitude 
toward  Americans  seems  to  be  based  on  the  theory  that 
if  you  throw  enough  mud,  some  of  it  will  stick;  and 
stick  some  of  it  undoubtedly  does,  to  the  manifest  injury 
and  detriment  of  the  United  States  as  a  nation,  of 
Americans  as  individuals,  and  of  American  goods  as 
reliable  products  in  the  markets  of  the  world. 

Throughout  South  America  the  British  exert  a  close 
grip  on  the  main  avenues  of  upper-class  publicity 
through  their  stranglehold  on  the  better  newspapers. 
British  capital  has  not  been  as  wary  of  investment  in 

70 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  71 

South  American  newspaper  properties  as  American, 
with  the  result  that  many  of  the  principal  papers  are 
English  in  style,  attitude,  and  sympathies.  In  Buenos 
Aires,  for  instance,  there  are  two  British  papers  which 
seldom  omit  a  possible  opportunity  to  revile  the  United 
States.  I  recall  an  instance  when  I  was  there  at  the 
time  great  difficulties  were  being  encountered  in  digging 
the  Panama  Canal,  owing  to  the  continual  slides  of  soft 
earth  into  the  famous  Culebra  cut.  At  a  time  when  the 
Americans  in  charge  of  the  work  determined  to  change 
engineers,  almost  eveiy  British  paper  in  South  America 
declared  that  the  Americans  had  failed  in  their  attempt 
to  conquer  the  engineering  difficulties  met  with  in  the 
canal  work  and  had  been  forced  to  call  in  the  services 
of  a  Scotch  engineer,  who  succeeded.  The  story  was 
absolutely  false,  but  it  was  everywhere  credited  as  the 
truth,  because  the  United  States  had  no  printed  mouth- 
piece with  which  to  nail  the  lie. 

Another  case  I  recollect  occurred  when  the  Argentine 
Government  decided  to  build  two  modem  battleships. 
The  British  bid  on  the  ship  contracts,  but  for  good  and 
sufficient  reasons  the  contracts  were  placed  in  the 
United  States.  As  soon  as  it  was  definitely  learned  that 
American  shipyards  were  to  build  these  vessels,  remarks 
began  to  appear  in  the  British  papers  of  Argentina  and 
other  South  American  countries  concerning  alleged 
weaknesses  that  were  said  to  have  developed  in  war 
vessels  built  in  the  United  States  for  other  countries. 
By  the  time  the  warships  had  been  completed  and  were 
ready  for  delivery,  this  storm  of  lies  and  misrepresenta- 
tion had  reached  such  a  stage  that  there  was  general 
doubt  in  Argentina  whether  the  ships  would  prove 
sufficiently  seaworthy  to  make  the  trip  from  the  United 


72  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

States  to  the  River  Plate.  Of  course,  when  the  splendid 
ships  that  had  been  built  here  were  delivered,  this  cam- 
paign had  to  cease.  The  ships  spoke  for  themselves  and 
were  the  equal,  for  their  time,  of  any  ships  of  like  size 
in  the  world. 

Yellow  fever  outbreaks  in  the  southern  ports  of  the 
United  States  and  crime  waves  in  New  York,  Chicago 
or  other  American  cities  always  receive  a  tremendous 
amount  of  attention  from  the  European-owned  South 
American  press.  Although  scarcely  a  year  passes  that 
some  South  American  port  is  not  closed  to  travel  be- 
cause of  an  outbreak  of  yellow  fever,  no  attention  is  paid 
to  such  a  condition  in  the  South  American  press ;  indeed, 
until  the  last  year  or  so  the  port  of  Guayaquil  on  the 
west  coast  was  so  notoriously  subject  to  yellow  fever 
that  many  shipping  companies  refused  to  allow  their 
vessels  to  call  there.  But  when  an  occasional  case  hap- 
pened to  break  out  in  New  Orleans  or  Mobile,  generally 
after  the  arrival  of  a  ship  from  a  Latin- American  port, 
the  entire  "yellow-dog"  press  of  South  America  would 
announce  the  fact  in  big  headlines  and  would  assert  the 
necessity  of  putting  restrictions  on  travel  to  and  from 
the  United  States  and  the  need  for  exceptionally  com- 
plete fumigating  of  all  freight  shipments.  These  things 
may  seem  trivial  to  readers  in  the  United  States,  but 
in  view  of  the  impossibility  of  refuting  them  because  of 
the  absence  of  an  impartial  press  or  one  owned  by 
American  capital,  these  lies  and  exaggerations  are 
accepted  by  the  majority  of  the  local  population  as  the 
truth. 

The  Germans  are  not  a  bit  behind  their  British  com- 
petitors at  playing  the  same  game.  For  instance,  in 
Valparaiso,  where  the  Germans  are  particularly  strong, 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  73 

there  is  a  paper  called  "Sucesos"  which  is  either  owned 
or  controlled  by  one  of  the  local  German  banking 
houses.  This  paper  stops  at  no  depth  of  degradation 
in  reviling  Americans  and  all  things  American.  On  one 
occasion  when  President  Wilson  made  a  speech  to  a 
Latin- American  gathering  at  Mobile,  in  which  he  offered 
the  friendship  of  the  United  States  to  all  the  South 
American  republics,  this  paper  printed  a  vile  cartoon 
showing  President  Wilson  as  a  chicken-thief,  with  a 
bag  containing  fowls  labeled  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  Santo 
Domingo,  Haiti,  Panama  and  Nicaragua.  He  was  rep- 
resented as  chasing  and  about  to  catch  Mexico  and 
Colombia,  while  a  figure  of  what  South  American  car- 
toonists believe  is  Uncle  Sam  leaned  over  a  fence  and 
said,  "Hurry  up,  Woodrow — if  they  cackle  much  louder 
Europe  will  be  attracted." 

There  was  absolutely  no  disposition  either  among  the 
foreign  or  native  population  of  Valparaiso  to  repudiate 
this  cartoon.  The  number  of  Americans  in  Chile  is  not 
large  enough  to  exert  any  great  pressure  along  com- 
mercial lines — the  only  place  where  it  would  do  the 
slightest  good — and  as  a  result  such  insulting  publica- 
tions are  allowed  to  work  all  the  havoc  their  publishers 
can  devise.  Buenos  Aires  and  other  South  American 
cities  published  a'story  giving  an  alleged  account  of  the 
electrocution  by  the  State  of  New  York  of  a  band  of 
convicted  gunmen.  It  was  declared  in  the  story  that 
the  execution  had  been  open  to  the  public  on  payment 
of  fifty  cents  admission  and  that  a  large  sum  had  been 
realized  from  the  thousands  who  attended.  By  a  curious 
misunderstanding  of  the  nature  of  death  by  electro- 
cution, however,  a  half-tone  was  printed  showing  the 
alleged  morgue  in  which  the  victims  were  placed  after 


74  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

being  electrocuted.  The  picture  showed  each  of  the 
victims  with  a  rope  tied  around  his  neck. 

When  an  American  man-of-war  carried  the  body  of 
a  former  president  of  Chile  back  to  that  country  and 
it  appeared  that  the  Chilean  people  were  being  won 
over  to  friendship  for  America  because  of  the  courtesy 
of  this  action  and  because  of  the  great  honors  paid  a 
Chilean  hero  both  in  the  United  States  and  on  the  way 
back  to  Chile,  the  entire  German,  British  and  other 
European-controlled  press  in  Chile  united  in  a  campaign 
of  slander  designed  to  counteract  any  good  will  that 
might  be  made  for  the  United  States  as  a  result  of  the 
warship's  errand.  Stories  were  spread  about  alleged 
carousing  on  the  ship  during  the  trip  down  from  the 
United  States  and  tales  so  wild  as  to  seem  inconceivable 
in  the  United  States  were  diligently  circulated  and 
widely  believed  in  Chile  and  elsewhere  in  South 
America. 

When  the  war  broke  out,  a  situation  developed  in 
Peru  which  seemed  likely  to  place  the  German  mer- 
chants and  bankers  of  that  country  in  the  same  un- 
enviable position  in  which  they  had  often  managed  to 
get  their  American  competitors  in  former  years.  But 
the  Germans  were  well  organized  and  were  powerful 
enough  to  take  decisive  action  in  the  case.  The  German 
Chamber  of  Commerce  in  Lima  promptly  notified  every 
newspaper  publisher  in  the  country  that  if  stories  detri- 
mental to  Germans  or  to  Germany  were  printed  their 
advertising  contracts  would  be  canceled  at  once.  This 
had  the  desired  effect  and  a  magical  change  in  the 
attitude  of  the  papers  was  immediately  noticeable. 

The  action  of  these  German  merchants  was  a  per- 
fectly  justifiable   means   of   self-defense.    They   knew 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  75 

that  if  the  campaign  of  vilification  was  not  stopped, 
their  business  would  quickly  reflect  the  attitude  that 
would  thereby  be  created  in  the  public  mind.  They  had 
worked  hard  for  many  years  to  build  up  selling  organ- 
izations, and  the  action  they  took  in  forcing  the  hand 
of  these  mercenary  publishers  is  exactly  in  line  with 
what  all  American  advertisers  ought  to  do  when  signing 
contracts  for  South  American  advertising  space.  A 
clause  should  be  inserted  in  every  advertising  contract 
calling  for  the  instant  cancellation  of  the  agreement 
in  the  event  that  anti-American  propaganda  is  given 
a  place  in  the  news  columns.  Ridicule  is  an  easy 
weapon  and  a  dangerous  one.  It  is  a  style  of  writing 
for  which  the  Latin-American  editorial  temperament 
seems  unusually  gifted.  The  way  to  stop  ridicule  of 
the  United  States  in  South  America  is  to  make  it  a 
pocket-book  affair.  That  is  an  argument  well  under- 
stood in  South  America,  as  everywhere  else,  and  it  will 
have  more  potent  effect  than  anything  else  that  could  be 
devised. 

To  the  average  South  American,  contact  with  the 
United  States  is  limited  to  what  he  reads  in  the  native 
press.  He  can  hardly  be  blamed  if  since  birth  he  has 
been  constantly  told  that  Americans  are  dishonest, 
schemers,  profaners  of  his  church,  scoffers  at  his  na- 
tionality and  his  culture,  ignorant  of  his  good  points 
and  too  quick  to  laugh  at  his  bad  ones.  Yet  that  is  the 
atmosphere  in  which  his  understanding  of  American 
ideas  and  products  has  been  created. 

The  attempts  which  so  far  have  been  made  to  remedy 
the  evils  spoken  of  in  this  chapter  have  been  too  dis- 
jointed and  too  lacking  in  coordination  to  prove  of  much 
value.    What  is  needed  is  genuine  cooperation  between 


76  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

the  State  Department,  the  consular  representatives  of 
the  United  States  throughout  South  America,  news  serv- 
ices controlled  by  Americans  who  are  willing  to  give  a 
fair  deal  to  this  country,  and  American  firms  seeking 
South  American  business.  With  a  few  honorable  excep- 
tions, American  consular  officers  abroad  take  little 
interest  in  attacks  on  their  country  or  their  country's 
products.  They  soon  become  the  victims  of  a  mean 
situation  in  which  their  families  are  made  to  feel  so- 
cially outcast  among  the  other  non-Latins  in  each  city 
if  they  do  not  peacefully  acquiesce  in  the  merry  game 
of  baiting  the  United  States.  This  pressure,  apparently 
little  understood  in  the  United  States,  is  a  powerful 
weapon.  It  is  the  custom  for  Americans  to  cast  their 
lot  among  the  British,  French,  Italian  or  other  foreign 
colonies  abroad,  and  the  social  life  in  which  they  and 
their  families  move  is  an  absolutely  necessary  part  of 
their  existence.  Anything  which  is  calculated  to  remove 
them  from  pleasant  intercourse  with  their  associate  for- 
eign consuls  is  naturally  looked  at  askance,  to  the  mani- 
fest detriment  of  Americans  best  commercial  interests. 

The  real  remedy  must  come  through  financial  pressure 
brought  directly  on  the  owners  of  newspapers  through- 
out the  continent.  Money  talks  everywhere;  in  South 
America  it  screams.  Now  that  representatives  of  Haiti, 
Santo  Domingo  and  other  disgruntled  countries  in 
which  the  United  States  has  been  forced  to  take  a  hand 
are  loudly  announcing  throughout  South  America  that 
the  United  States  is  throttling  their  independence,  mur- 
dering their  people,  enslaving  citizens  and  God  knows 
what  not,  the  necessity  for  quick  action  on  the  part  of 
American  advertisers  is  more  pressing  than  it  has  been 
at  any  time  in  the  past. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  77 

The  gun-man  electrocution  incident  described  in  this 
chapter  illustrates  in  a  striking  degree  the  lack  of 
genuine  information  concerning  America  possessed  by 
the  average  South  American  newspaper  editor.  It  is 
easy  to  imagine  a  situation  where  a  perfectly  honorable 
newspaper  editor,  wishing  to  give  his  readers  the  truth 
and  unwilling  to  make  himself  the  victim  of  such  a 
grotesque  piece  of  misrepresentation  as  that  named, 
should  still  be  led  through  ignorance  into  printing  this 
picture,  because  whatever  lies  and  forgeries  may  have 
been  connected  with  it,  no  one  can  deny  its  human  in- 
terest touch.  The  cure  for  this  is  the  wider  dissemina- 
tion of  general  information  about  the  United  States; 
not  platitudes  spoken  by  diplomatic  representatives  at 
annual  political  events,  but  a  sincere  effort  to  tell  the 
average  man,  the  "man  in  the  street,"  just  what  America 
means. 

The  Associated  Press  and  the  other  press  services  have 
a  plain  commercial  and  patriotic  duty  to  perform  in  this 
connection,  but  due  to  the  business  depression  that  has 
followed  the  close  of  the  war  it  is  rumored  that  even 
the  small  amount  of  legitimate  American  news  service 
now  going  to  South  America  may  have  to  be  curtailed 
in  the  interests  of  frugality.  Such  a  move  would  be 
poor  economy,  and  every  American  business  man  may 
rest  assured  that  it  is  a  form  of  economy  in  which  the 
British,  with  a  much  more  acute  business  depression 
than  that  existing  in  the  United  States,  will  not  indulge. 

Probably  the  best  way  is  a  subsidized  news  service. 
There  is  nothing  in  such  a  suggestion  inimical  to  the 
freedom  of  the  press  or  to  any  other  idea  that  might 
prove  distasteful  to  Americans  at  home.    We  have  long 


78  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

had  representatives  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  in 
leading  South  American  cities  whose  duty  it  is  to  spread 
information  regarding  American  goods  and  business 
methods.  Now  we  are  told  that  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  is  establishing  an  office  of  its  own  at  Buenos 
Aires  for  the  purpose  of  acquainting  the  live  stock  breed- 
ers and  the  farmers  of  that  fine  country  with  American 
high-grade  live  stock  and  farming  methods.  Surely  no 
one  can  benefit  as  much  from  this  as  the  Argentines 
themselves.  Better  cattle  and  better  methods  of  farm- 
ing must  first  of  all  benefit  the  people  who  own  them 
or  breed  them,  and  it  will  be  a  long  time  before  the 
United  States  will  derive  enough  value  from  the  sales 
that  will  thus  be  made  from  the  United  States  to  Argen- 
tina to  recoup  itself  for  the  expense  involved  in  carry- 
ing on  this  work. 

But  the  main  point  is  this:  If  the  United  States 
Government  can  ethically  and  satisfactorily  maintain 
offices  in  South  America  to  tell  about  American  goods 
and  to  spread  the  gospel  of  better  live  stock  and  better 
farming,  why  can  it  not  also  do  something  to  let  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  South  American  countries  know 
what  kind  of  a  country  the  United  States  is,  so  that  in 
five  years'  time  no  newspaper's  readers  will  swallow  so 
absurd  a  yarn  as  the  story  that  the  State  of  New  York 
sold  admission  tickets  to  a  public  electrocution?  The 
task  is  a  big  one,  no  doubt,  but  it  has  to  be  faced  if  the 
manufactured  products  of  this  country  are  to  be  kept 
on  the  counters  of  the  South  American  merchant. 

Advertising  is  the  keystone  of  the  arch  by  which  this 
structure  of  intelligent  appreciation  and  honest  friend- 
ship must  be  built.    It  is  by  way  of  the  printed  word 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  79 

that  goods  must  be  sold,  but  that  same  printed  word 
must  first  carry  a  message  in  the  news  columns  of  the 
papers  selected  for  the  granting  of  advertising  patron- 
age. 


CHAPTER  VII 

The  mechanical  side  of  an  advertising  campaign  in  Latin-America — 
Reading  notices  and  their  values — ^The  illustrated  testimonial  and  its 
use — Translations. 

WHEN  the  plan  to  be  followed  in  conducting  an 
advertising  campaign  in  Latin-America  has 
been  determined  upon  and  the  question  comes 
up  of  the  actual  material  to  be  used,  a  number  of 
mechanical  questions  arise  which  will  later  cause  great 
delay  and  difficulty  if  they  are  not  properly  understood 
in  advance.  One  that  is  not  generally  known  is  that  in 
Latin-America  there  are  three  heights  of  type  in  com- 
mon use — German,  Italian,  and  that  used  alike  in 
England  and  the  United  States.  It  is  next  to  impossible 
to  determine  in  advance  what  kind  of  press  a  cut  will  be 
used  upon,  and  it  is  therefore  the  best  practice  to  ship 
all  cuts  unmounted,  leaving  each  publication  to  mount 
them  on  backs  suited  to  the  press  on  which  they  are  to 
be  used.  If  this  is  not  done,  the  result  will  be  unsatisfac- 
tory; either  the  printers  will  make  a  poor  job  of  trying 
to  whittle  it  down  to  the  desired  height  or,  if  too  low, 
they  will  probably  try  the  expedient  of  pasting  succes- 
sive layers  of  cardboard  under  it.  This  may  work  all 
right  for  the  first  few  hundred  impressions,  but  after 
that  it  T^all  be  worn  down  and  the  cut  will  be  imperfectly 
reproduced. 

Beyond  a  doubt  this  lack  of  uniformity  in  the  me- 
chanical equipment  of  Latin- American  newspapers  and 

80 


Another  anti-American  knock.  Uncle  Sam  is  shown  as  cultivating  in  his 
garden  the  munitions  of  war.  This  is  from  "Sucesos,"  but  there  is  hardly  a 
paper  in  all  Latin-America  that  does  not  indulge  in  such  practices — and  most 
of  them  persist  in  keeping  this  up. 


AM.  BAILEI 


La.  Muerte.—Detidase,  Tio  Sam,  mire  qae  yamos  a  llegar  tarde...  Su  preseocia  es  necr- 
saria  alii  para  darle  mayor  animacldn  a  la  fiesta... 

(4) 

Another  slam  at  America.     Uncle  Sam  is  depicted  as  inviting  Death  to 
the  feast. 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  81 

printing  offices  is  one  of  the  primary  reasons  for  the 
unsatisfactory  appearance  of  the  output.  It  is  a  hodge- 
podge almost  beyond  belief.  Odds  and  ends  have  been 
pieced  together  until  the  average  press,  aside  from  the 
large  cities,  is  a  hybrid  affair  no  manufacturer  of  presses 
would  recognize  as  his  own.  The  same  general  situation 
applies  in  the  case  of  type,  furniture  and  other  equip- 
ment. Naturally,  to  cope  with  a  situation  of  this  sort 
and  to  obtain  from  second-rate  workmen  a  decent-look- 
ing job  of  printing  is  expecting  a  great  deal.  The  best 
plan  is  to  do  everything  possible  to  prepare  things  in 
advance  and  then  leave  the  result  to  Providence.  Those 
whose  expectations  are  the  smallest  will  find  their  hopes 
realized  in  the  highest  degree. 

One  point,  now  almost  forgotten  in  the  United  States 
but  still  very  much  in  vogue  throughout  Latin- America, 
is  the  liberal  use  of  reading  notices.  Latin-American 
newspapers  and  other  publications  make  a  practice  of 
using  reading  notices  supplied  by  their  advertisers  to 
fill  odd  spaces  and  column  ends.  No  small  miscellany  as 
fill  American  periodicals  is  used,  and  the  American 
advertiser  should  be  sure  to  supply  all  papers  which  are 
to  carry  his  advertising  with  reading  notices  of  from 
one  to  fifty  lines.  They  may  be  couched  in  language  so 
extravagant  as  to  sound  ridiculous  in  English,  but  when 
translated  into  the  sonorous  Spanish  or  Portuguese 
tongue  they  will  arouse  no  unusual  curiosity  and  will 
be  the  better  believed  for  having  laid  the  lubrication 
on  thickly.  Publishers  care  little  what  is  said  in  these 
reading  notices,  being  interested  only  in  being  paid  for 
the  space  used  by  the  regular  copy.  The  average  Latin 
will  read  such  notices  with  a  degree  of  acceptance  which 
seems  childlike  to  an  American,  but  which  is  well  un- 


82  ADVERTISING  FOE  TRADE 

derstood  by  those  who  have  spent  a  few  years  among 
them. 

Another  element  of  advertising  that  holds  a  high 
place  in  all  Latin-American  countries,  and  which  has 
only  lost  repute  in  the  United  States  within  the  last 
twenty  years,  is  the  signed  and,  if  possible,  illustrated 
testimonial.  With  us  the  time-honored  certificate  waa 
generally  limited  to  liver  pills,  Peruna  or  others  of  this 
class;  in  Latin- America  the  field  of  the  testimonial  is 
as  wide  as  the  field  of  advertising  itself,  and  the  proprie- 
tor of  a  rural  hotel  will  be  just  as  elated  and  as  indus- 
trious in  proclaiming  the  merits  of  a  preparation  adver- 
tised with  his  picture  if  it  relates  to  bed-bug  poison  used 
satisfactorily  by  him  as  if  it  proclaimed  the  merits  of 
his  six-cylinder  touring  car. 

A  testimonial  bearing  the  cut  of  the  parish  priest  and 
testifying  to  anything  from  cigarettes  to  cough  syrup 
will  obtain  a  respectful  hearing  from  families  of  all 
degrees.  The  printed  word  must  be  used  in  such  a  way 
as  to  exert  a  more  direct  appeal  than  in  the  United 
States;  in  Latin- America  the  sledge-hammer  method 
gets  the  best  returns.  Ink  and  white  paper  work  a 
charm  below  the  Rio  Grande  that  must  hearten  and 
cheer  any  advertising  man  who  gets  close  enough  to 
actual  conditions  to  understand  how  to  manipulate 
them.  The  pity  is  that  more  American  advertising  men 
and  their  principals  have  not  thought  it  worth  their 
while  to  study  the  subject  closer.  It  is  more  to  be 
regretted  because  of  the  fact  that  modem  advertising  is 
so  peculiarly  an  American  creation,  a  creation  which  no 
foreign  nation  has  so  far  been  able  successfully  to  adapt 
to  its  own  merchandising  purposes. 

Before  leaving  the  matter  of  testimonials,  both  with 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  83 

those  which  contain  a  picture  of  the  affiant  and  those 
which  appear  in  plain  form,  some  attention  should  be 
paid  to  the  matter  of  securing  the  insertion  of  testi- 
monials in  the  foreign  papers  that  are  widely  read  in 
Latin-American  countries.  This  will  be  difficult  in  the 
case  of  British  publications  and  would  probably  be  of 
slight  value,  even  if  secured.  In  the  case  of  papers 
printed  in  France  and  Spain,  however,  it  will  be  com- 
paratively easy  to  secure  the  publication  of  such  testi- 
monials in  connection  with  the  insertion  of  other 
advertising  copy,  and  their  effect  in  South  America  is 
likely  to  be  far-reaching. 

The  idea  works  along  the  same  psychological  linea 
as  those  suggested  in  the  chapter  describing  the  effect 
of  advertising  in  European  papers  on  the  Latin-Ameri- 
can mind,  with  the  two-fold  impetus  which  comes,  first, 
from  the  character  of  the  testimonial  itself  and,  sec- 
ondly, from  the  fact  that  the  far-off  European  publica- 
tion was  so  favorably  impressed  as  to  print  a  testimonial 
subscribed  to  by  their  fellow-townsman  or  fellow- 
countryman.  An  examination  of  such  publications  will 
show  that  the  truth  of  this  is  beginning  to  impress  itself 
on  the  minds  of  the  pioneer  advertisers  who  are  now 
getting  their  trade  lines  well  built  up  in  South  America. 
It  is  a  subject  that  merits  careful  study. 

The  question  of  translations  for  advertising  copy  has 
been  treated  in  another  chapter,  but  it  is  well  to  reaffirm 
the  importance  of  having  this  part  of  the  work  well 
done.  The  Spanish  language  is  a  difficult  one;  the 
popular  notion  to  the  contrary  is  absolutely  false.  The 
nuances  of  the  Spanish  tongue  and  the  grammatical 
refinements  in  the  language  used  by  a  cultivated  Latin 
family  make  it  imperative  that  only  Spanish  scholars 


84  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

of  unquestioned  standing  be  employed  to  translate  ad- 
vertising copy.  No  matter  how  successful  an  advertise- 
ment may  have  been  in  English,  there  is  not  the  slightest 
ground  for  believing  that  when  translated  into  Spanish 
or  Portuguese  it  will  have  the  same  effect.  Indeed,  the 
chief  difiiculty  comes  in  freeing  inelegant  American  copy 
from  the  element  of  slang  that  is  fatal  if  used  in  Latin- 
American  announcements.  The  Latin  may  be  careless 
in  his  own  personal  use  of  language,  but  he  refuses  to  be 
addressed  in  the  printed  word  with  crude  and  unpolished 
expressions.  He  considers,  and  rightly  so,  that  if  any 
one  has  a  message  to  deliver  to  him,  it  should  be  conveyed 
in  the  courtly  phraseology  which  is  always  presumed  to 
be  used  by  one  cultivated  Latin  when  addressing  an- 
other. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Value  of  personal  contact  with  Latin  wholesalers — Peculiar  credit 
system  in  effect — Patriarchal  position  of  the  general  storekeeper  in  each 
community — Effect  of  falling  raw  material  prices — Ease  of  selling  goods 
if  wholesaler's  interest  can  once  be  secured — General  working  of  the 
system. 

OTHER  methods  of  securing  publicity  for  Ameri- 
can goods  in  Ibero-America  than  by  means  of 
newspapers  and  like  publications  are  probably 
all  of  less  importance  than  the  problem  of  getting  in 
direct  touch  and  personal  contact  with  the  native  whole- 
saler. It  is  a  little  diflflcult  for  Americans  to  grasp  the 
extent  to  which  the  wholesaler  holds  the  sword  over  the 
smaller  merchants  and  the  cross-roads  general  store- 
keeper in  all  Latin-American  countries.  Credit  is  the 
keystone  of  all  Spanish  American  business.  This  is  the 
true  reason  for  the  acute  business  depression  which  hit 
the  entire  continent  and  its  surroundings,  beginning 
with  the  sugar  depression  in  Cuba  in  the  early  autumn 
of  1920  and  extending  south  throughout  the  entire  con- 
tinent as  coffee,  rubber,  timber,  wool,  hides,  wheat,  meat 
and  other  raw  products  tumbled  in  price.  The  producers 
were  unable  to  liquidate  their  indebtedness  to  their 
immediate  creditors,  the  small  storekeepers,  who,  in 
turn,  were  unable  to  pay  the  wholesalers  and  thus  pre- 
cipitated a  general  credit  and  business  stagnation. 

The  small  storekeepers,  the  class  who  come  into  direct 
touch  with  the  ultimate  consumer  as  well  as  the  primary 
producer,  are  under  the  thumb  of  the  wholesaler  to  a 

86 


86  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

much  greater  degree  than  could  be  realized  by  compari- 
son with  any  commercial  situation  in  the  United  States. 
It  is  more  a  matter  of  giving  orders  to  the  storekeeper 
than  of  taking  orders  from  him,  as  is  the  case  with 
wholesalers  in  the  United  States.  The  jobber,  if 
he  can  be  won  over,  can  make  a  success  of  the  sale  of 
any  article.  He  will  simply  send  the  storekeeper  a 
stock  of  the  article  in  question,  and  it  is  up  to  the  store- 
keeper to  popularize  the  line  with  his  local  trade  in 
order  to  work  it  off  his  shelves  and  get  the  wherewithal 
to  pay  the  wholesaler. 

This  may  seem  a  queer  situation,  but  it  is  not  without 
its  merits.  The  wholesalers,  naturally,  are  far  above 
the  native  storekeepers  in  intelligence.  If  an  article 
has  merit,  that  fact  will  become  patent  to  the  wholesaler 
much  quicker  than  it  will  penetrate  the  slow-moving, 
change-hating  mind  of  the  rural  shopkeeper.  Thus, 
with  good  luck  in  winning  the  wholesaler  to  his  stand- 
ard, a  manufacturer  may  at  one  stroke  attain  a  wide 
distribution  for  his  product  over  a  considerable  stretch 
of  territory,  and  the  expense  involved  will  be  trivial 
compared  to  that  which  would  be  necessary  if  it  were 
impossible  to  create  a  buying  demand  from  the  top 
downward,  rather  than  from  the  bottom  upward,  as  is 
necessary  in  the  United  States.  That  is,  in  this  country 
advertisers  as  a  rule  seek  to  create  among  consumers  a 
desire  for  their  products,  which  desire,  translated  into 
calls  for  the  article  in  the  retail  stores,  stimulates  orders 
to  the  wholesaler  or  jobber.  In  Latin- America  this  can 
often  be  accomplished  at  one  stroke  by  forcing  the  re- 
tailer to  push  certain  goods,  rather  than  by  waiting  for 
the  consumer  to  ask  for  them. 

Such  a  system  has  another  good  point  in  the  fact  that 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  87 

the  business  of  creating  a  new  want,  or  at  least  what  is 
felt  by  the  consumer  to  be  a  want,  is  a  much  slower 
business  in  Ibero-America  than  in  the  United  States. 
With  us  there  is  a  great  middle  class  of  considerable 
purchasing  power  always  on  the  lookout  for  something 
new,  a  sort  of  "I  '11  buy  anything  once"  attitude  of  mind 
which  also  includes  the  means  to  indulge  this  desire. 
But  in  South  America,  outside  of  the  rich  upper  class 
which  has  a  very  large  purchasing  power,  the  buying 
is  limited  to  simpler  things.  The  Latin  American  out- 
side of  the  larger  cities  and  towns  fails  to  see  why  he 
should  enlarge  the  number  of  his  necessities;  therefore 
the  best  way  to  sell  him  something  is  to  bring  such  pres- 
sure to  bear  on  his  storekeeper  that  he  will  see  the  error 
of  his  ways  and  increase  his  standard  of  living  by  the 
use  of  the  article  which  it  is  desired  to  push. 

The  general  storekeeper  occupies  the  position  of  a 
patriarch  in  the  smaller  communities.  By  granting  or 
withholding  of  credit  he  can  wield  practically  the  same 
sway  over  his  people  that  the  wholesaler,  in  turn,  wields 
over  the  storekeeper.  It  is  a  complicated  situation  and 
one  which  could  not  exist  in  a  highly  developed  or  an 
industrial  country,  or  one  in  which  a  high  degree  of 
literacy  exists,  but  we  are  dealing  here  with  things  as 
they  are  at  the  moment  and  not  as  they  may  be  when 
the  millenium  arrives. 

The  whole  matter  boils  down,  then,  for  all  practical 
purposes  and  for  most  of  the  ordinary  American 
products  which  it  is  designed  to  sell  in  these  lands, 
to  the  necessity  of  reaching  the  wholesaler.  This  can 
only  be  done  in  one  way,  and  that  is  by  the  personal 
visit.  These  people  are  sticklers  for  formality  and  their 
own  brand  of  courtesy.    If  an  American  tries  to  put  over 


88  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

what  is  vulgarly  termed  the  "rush  act,"  his  case  is 
doomed  beforehand.  Custom  is  the  main  arbiter  of 
business  dealings  with  Latin-Americans,  and  it  will 
long  continue  thus.  Europeans  have  played  their  cards 
well  in  this  game  because  they  were  more  or  less  fa- 
miliar with  its  technique  before  entering  the  South 
American  selling  field.  Social  usages  applied  to  busi- 
ness are  much  more  important  in  Europe  than  in  the 
United  States,  and  many  an  American  salesman,  other- 
wise well  equipped,  has  been  unable  to  understand  his 
ill  luck  in  selling  goods  to  South  American  merchants, 
when  the  real  reason  was  the  American's  failure  to  ob- 
serve some  seemingly  ridiculous  custom.  "It  is  the  cus- 
tom, Senor,"  and  that  is  all  there  is  about  it.  Obey  it 
and  you  will  probably  succeed ;  flout  it  and  you  will  sell 
no  goods,  even  if  you  offer  them  lower  than  any  competi- 
tor in  the  field. 

The  difSculty  is  that  Americans  have  not  been  trained 
in  this  school  of  business  diplomacy  and  are  not  as  well 
fitted  for  the  social  tasks  falling  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
commercial  ambassadors  who  must  blaze  the  trail  for 
American  goods  throughout  South  America.  This  is 
a  defect  which  is  being  remedied,  but  not  as  quickly  as 
might  be  wished,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
year  1921  has  witnessed  a  perfect  horde  of  well  trained 
European  salesmen  descending  upon  South  America. 
But  even  after  a  properly  conducted  personal  visit  by  a 
qualified  representative  has  resulted  in  orders  for  goods, 
the  personal  contact  must  be  maintained  as  closely  as 
possible.  Personal  letters  that  could  by  no  means  be 
mistaken  for  form  letters  or  into  which  no  hint  of 
coldness  is  allowed  to  creep  are  required,  and  one  who 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  89 

can  write  such  letters  in  the  Spanish  or  Portugnese 
tongue  is  an  absolute  necessity. 

Properly  conducted  advertising,  designed  to  open  the 
wholesaler's  mind  before  the  formal  business  visit  of 
the  American  representative,  will  prove  the  greatest 
aid  in  forming  a  satisfactory  connection.  If  such  ad- 
vertising has  been  cleverly  devised  and  the  article  itself 
impresses  the  wholesaler  that  the  pushing  of  its  sale 
would  be  mutually  profitable  to  himself  and  his  retail- 
ers, a  client  will  generally  have  been  secured  who  will 
stick  through  thick  and  thin  and  who  will  prove  a  highly 
satisfactory  and  profitable  foreign  customer.  But  to 
attempt  to  land  him  without  the  bait  he  insists  upon  is 
wasting  money  that  might  far  better  be  given  to  the 
poor. 

Eecent  events  have  intensified  the  condition  described 
in  this  chapter,  and  the  subserviency  of  the  small  gen- 
eral store-owner  to  his  wholesaler  is  now  greater  than 
at  almost  any  time  in  the  past.  The  situation  is  not 
unlike  that  existing  in  the  cotton-growing  states  here 
at  home.  The  storekeepers  in  those  states  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  extending  credit  to  small  cotton-planters 
for  supplies,  seed,  fertilizer,  etc.,  holding  a  lien  against 
the  crop  in  process  of  making.  This  year,  however,  the 
drop  in  the  price  of  cotton  has  been  such  a  precipitate 
one  that  many  storekeepers,  and  in  turn  many  small 
jobbers,  wholesalers  and  even  banks,  have  found  the 
security  available  to  satisfy  their  liens  of  considerably 
less  market  value  than  their  claims. 

This  is  practically  what  has  occurred  in  many  parts 
of  South  America  between  the  wholesalers  and  the  small 
storekeepers.  Starting  with  the  last  quarter  of  1920, 
a  drop  in  the  price  of  all  raw  materials  set  in  that 


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practically  paralyzed  business.  This  economic  condi- 
tion is  always  most  pronounced  in  countries  which 
chiefly  depend  on  the  sale  of  raw  materials.  Coffee, 
hides,  meat,  grain,  copper,  nitrate,  wool,  sugar,  cotton, 
in  fact,  nearly  all  the  important  raw  materials  have 
dropped  so  far  and  so  fast  that  the  storekeepers  through- 
out South  America  have  found  their  debtors  extremely 
financially  embarrassed  and  in  no  position  to  liquidate 
their  accounts. 

In  the  face'  of  such  a  condition  the  plight  of  the 
small  storekeeper  has  been  a  most  unfortunate  one.  It 
has  been  within  the  power  of  the  wholesaler  to  squeeze 
him  to  the  wall  in  thousands  of  cases,  although  self- 
preservation  for  the  wholesaler  himself  has  led  to  the 
adoption  of  a  "nursing  along"  policy  in  an  effort  to  save 
what  can  be  salvaged  from  the  wreck.  But  what  we 
are  describing  here  has  been  accomplished,  that  is,  the 
placing  of  the  small  dealer  in  the  absolute  power  of  the 
wholesaler.  This  means  that  when  a  wholesaler  decides 
to  handle  a  certain  line  of  goods  he  will  be  in  a  position 
to  order  a  large  quantity  of  them  and  to  be  certain  that 
they  will  be  actually  sold  and  put  into  use.  The  small 
storekeeper  has  all  his  neighbors  in  his  debt  and  can 
use  the  same  methods  on  them  that  are  used  by  the 
wholesaler  on  the  storekeeper. 

This  is  an  unpleasant  phase  of  South  American  busi- 
ness, but  the  American  who  wants  to  sell  goods  in  that 
market  must  take  things  as  he  finds  them,  and  that  is 
the  situation  which  confronts  him.  Harsh  as  it  seems, 
it  works  better  in  practice  than  would  be  thought  from 
the  long-distance  description  of  it.  The  commercial  in- 
stinct is  not  as  highly  developed  in  these  people  as  it  is 
with  US  and  stringent  measures  must  be  available  to 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  91 

assure  the  ultimate  carrying  out  of  contracts,  although 
it  is  seldom  necessary  to  bring  them  into  use. 

While  Americans  insist  on  their  right  to  do  business 
with  whom  they  please  and  are  generally  disposed  to 
grant  this  right  to  every  one  else,  there  is  still  something 
to  be  said  for  the  patriarchal  system  still  existing  in 
South  America.  Latins  are  even  more  gregarious  than 
other  races  and  few  men  oppress  those  with  whom  they 
are  in  daily  contact.  It  is  to  the  interest  of  the  whole- 
saler only  to  buy  and  push  such  goods  as  are  intrinsically 
of  value  to  the  final  consumers  in  his  territory,  and  the 
present  system  offers  an  opportunity  throughout  the 
rural  districts  for  reaching  numerous  potential  buyers 
right  at  the  source.  This  creates  advertising  problems 
slightly  different  from  those  generally  met  elsewhere, 
because  consumer  demand  must  necessarily  be  almost 
non-existent  under  such  a  plan,  but  the  fact  is  that 
the  system  works,  and  as  long  as  it  is  in  vogue  Ameri- 
cans must  bend  their  methods  in  compliance  with  it. 
In  general,  it  will  be  found  to  work  much  better  than 
at  first  might  be  thought. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Preservation  of  racial  habits — ^How  the  Germans  introduced  beer — 
Getting  religious  cooperation — Low  ethical  standards  in  medical  adver- 
tising— Latins  slow  to  change  habits — Success  achieved  by  American 
agricultural  machinery  advertising — Big  markets  open  for  sale  of  Ford 
car  accessories. 

WORLD  travelers  who  visit  South  America  are 
repeatedly  impressed  with  the  enormous  ex- 
tent to  which  the  racial  habits  and  customs 
of  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  to  a  lesser  extent  of  France, 
have  been  impressed  on  all  Latin-American  countries. 
In  every  department  of  ordinary  life  the  habits  inher- 
ited from  Latin  ancestors  govern  the  day-to-day  affairs 
of  the  entire  population  below  the  Texas  border. 

That  such  a  condition  should  have  a  direct  and  un- 
mistakable reaction  on  the  products  consumed  by  these 
nations  is,  of  course,  obvious.  To  analyze  such  a  situa- 
tion and  devise  means  that  will  create  markets  for 
American  products  without  asking  the  Latin  to  change 
his  habits  or  acquire  tastes  for  articles  for  which  he  has 
no  appreciation  is  one  of  the  purposes  of  this  book. 
Such  an  analysis  will  have  to  be  successfully  made  by 
any  American  firm  intending  to  build  up  a  permanent 
business  in  South  America ;  without  it  any  money  spent 
for  unintelligent  advertising  might  as  well  be  thrown 
out  of  the  window. 

To  take  eating  habits  as  an  example,  let  us  suppose 
that  an  American  manufacturer  of  breakfast  food  de- 
cided to  push  the  sale  of  his  product  by  the  same 

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ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  93 

methods  he  uses  in  the  United  States.  Such  a  decision 
would  involve  the  assumption  that  South  Americans 
are  in  the  habit  of  eating  hearty  breakfasts  such  as  are 
usual  in  this  country.  The  fact  is  that  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  get  a  more  substantial  breakfast  anywhere 
in  South  America  than  a  mere  cup  of  black  coffee  and 
possibly  a  couple  of  rolls.  To  sit  down  to  a  meal  of 
fruit,  cereal  and  wheat  cakes  with  sausage  would  terrify 
the  average  Latin.  He  eats  little  in  the  morning,  but 
consumes  a  very  substantial  midday  meal.  Breakfast 
food  means  nothing  to  him ;  it  is  as  far  outside  of  any- 
thing he  wants  or  will  buy  as  a  pair  of  woolen  mittens 
would  be  in  Rio  Janeiro,  an  article  which,  by  the  way, 
I  have  seen  advertised  in  a  paper  published  in  that  city 
of  perpetual  heat. 

Foodstuffs  prepared  with  olive  oil  are  universal 
throughout  South  America,  although  they  are  little  used 
in  this  country.  This  is  perhaps  the  best  single  illus- 
tration of  the  influence  of  European  habits  on  the  daily 
lives  of  South  Americans.  Oil  is  on  every  table  in  all 
ranks  of  society,  and  the  diflSculty  of  obtaining  satis- 
factory supplies  of  olive  oil  during  the  war  created  a 
distressing  lack  for  the  housewives  of  South  America. 
This  shortage  was  in  part  filled  by  the  better  grades  of 
oil  made  from  cotton  seed  in  the  United  States,  and  a 
trade  of  considerable  proportions  in  this  article  was 
built  up.  It  is  possible  that  an  important  field  for  the 
sale  of  high  grade  cottonseed  oil  for  table  use  exists 
throughout  Latin-America,  but  up  to  this  time  its  use 
as  a  substitute  for  olive  oil  has  been  brought  about  by 
necessity,  rather  than  by  choice. 

There  is  a  tradition  throughout  Latin-America  that 
Spain  produces  the  finest  wines  sold  anywhere.     This 


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feeling  has  been  used  with  good  effect  by  German  wine 
importers,  who  have  taken  wine  produced  in  Italy, 
France,  California  and  other  places  and  have  sold  it 
with  labels  describing  the  product  as  "Spanish  wine." 
The  Latin  taste  is  governed  more  by  the  eye  than  by 
the  palate,  and  the  result  is  that,  with  pure  food  laws 
more  honored  in  the  breach  than  the  observance,  many 
such  swindles  are  perpetrated. 

The  Germans  supplied  the  world  with  an  object 
lesson  in  the  matter  of  introducing  new  products  to 
South  America  when  they  started  out  to  popularize  beer 
as  a  beverage  for  universal  use.  Not  many  years  ago 
beer  was  completely  unknown  in  Latin-America,  except 
in  European  and  American  clubs  and  possibly  in  a  few 
high  class  hotels.  In  all  of  these,  moreover,  nothing 
was  available  except  bottled  beer,  most  of  it  being  the 
product  of  a  well  known  St.  Louis  brewery  which  in  the 
days  antedating  prohibition  turned  out  a  brand  particu- 
larly designed  to  keep  in  the  tropics. 

The  Germans  believed  the  South  American  field  to  be 
a  favorable  one  for  the  introduction  of  local  breweries 
and  proceeded  to  show  the  courage  of  their  convictions 
by  building  a  number  of  breweries,  one  of  the  first  being 
located  at  Caracas,  the  beautiful  capital  of  Venezuela. 
The  brewery  was  built  and  the  product  placed  on  sale, 
but  no  purchasers  appeared.  Facing  the  prospect  of  a 
total  loss  of  their  investment,  the  brewers  sought  for  a 
scheme  that  would  popularize  beer  with  the  upper 
classes  of  the  city,  knowing  well  that  if  the  upper  crust 
could  once  be  penetrated,  the  lower  classes  would  follow 
like  sheep. 

Accordingly,  the  Germans,  with  a  knowledge  of 
psychology  that  in  this  case  was  one  hundred  per  cent. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  95 

perfect,  and  far  different  from  that  displayed  by  the 
same  race  in  handling  Americans  before  our  entrance 
into  the  World  War,  decided  to  form  a  union  with  the 
forces  of  the  Church.  A  large  store  building  directly 
across  the  street  from  the  Cathedral  of  Caracas  was 
rented  and  convei'ted  into  a  typical  German  cafe. 
Then  arrangements  were  made  for  serving  lunch  at 
small  tables,  the  lunch  consisting  of  the  food  products 
usually  associated  with  Germans  and  beer — namely, 
pretzels,  sausage,  rye  bread,  sardines,  salt  crackers, 
cheese  and  the  like.  When  the  caf6  was  ready,  a  grand 
opening  was  announced  for  Easter  Sunday,  and  elab- 
orately engraved  invitations  were  sent  to  all  of  the 
leading  families  of  Venezuela  and  to  the  Archbishop 
and  other  clergy  connected  with  the  Cathedral  to  visit 
the  cafe  as  guests  of  the  management  immediately  after 
High  Mass  on  Easter  morning. 

Something  for  nothing  is  a  magic  talisman  in  South 
America,  as  elsewhere,  and  in  this  case  there  was  the 
added  attraction  of  a  social  function  linked  with  a 
religious  ceremony.  The  plan  succeeded  beyond  all 
expectations.  After  the  morning  service  terminated, 
and  as  soon  as  the  last  note  of  the  organ  had  sounded, 
all  the  elite  of  Caracas,  accompanied  by  their  spiritual 
advisers,  flocked  across  the  street  to  the  German  caf6, 
while  the  lower  orders  of  the  population  formed  a  dense 
mass  around  the  restaurant  to  watch  their  superiors  eat 
free  lunch  and  drink  German  beer.  The  holiday  spirit, 
together  with  the  really  high  class  cafe,  beer  and  food, 
won  the  day  for  the  Germans  and  beer  became  the  most 
fashionable  drink  in  Venezuela.  Other  breweries  in 
South  America  have  popularized  their  product  by  sim- 
ilar methods;  the  point  here  being  that  by  the  use  of 


96  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

brains  and  proper  methods  the  people  were  persuaded 
to  adopt  a  habit  that  was  entirely  foreign  to  their  lives 
and  to  the  countries  from  which  they  or  their  foref athera 
came. 

The  Caracas  incident  had  another  side  to  it  that  is 
worth  mentioning,  because  it  shows  the  possibility  of 
linking  up  more  than  one  advertising  and  sales  cam- 
paign to  benefit  a  number  of  products.  When  the  Ger- 
man brewers  set  about  providing  a  typical  German 
lunch  to  go  with  their  beer  in  the  cafe,  they  were  unable 
to  find  the  materials  on  sale  in  Caracas,  and  were  forced 
to  look  elsewhere  for  them.  This  impressed  itself  on  the 
brewery  managers,  and  they  soon  arranged  for  the 
opening  of  a  delicatessen  store  for  the  sale  of  all  such 
foods.  The  glamor  of  the  cafe  and  the  beer  shed  itself 
with  equal  brilliance  on  the  delicatessen  proprietor, 
with  the  result  that  he  did  an  enormous  business.  To- 
day delicatessens  are  as  familiar  in  South  America  as 
in  New  York,  largely  through  the  series  of  events  that 
followed  the  work  of  making  a  brewery  pay  in  Caracas. 

Likewise  in  the  case  of  bottles,  hops,  malt,  sugar, 
corks  and  other  supplies  used  for  the  production  of 
beer.  The  Germans  were  the  most  clannish  of  all  out- 
side races  in  South  America  before  the  war,  and  it  may 
be  depended  upon  that  nothing  was  ever  bought  to 
supply  a  German  brewery  from  other  than  German 
sellers,  if  the  goods  were  available.  An  inspection  of 
the  customs  statistics  of  any  prominent  Latin-American 
country  will  disclose  the  fact  that  imports  for  making 
beer  are  now  exceedingly  significant  items  and  that 
Germans  derive  the  major  share  of  the  benefit.  In  like 
manner  American  habits  of  eating  and  drinking  may  be 
introduced  in  South  America,  but  the  problems  met  must 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  97 

receive  the  same  sort  of  intelligent  study  and  methods 
of  solution  as  were  applied  by  the  Germans  in  their 
efforts  to  prevent  an  investment  in  a  brewery  from  be- 
coming a  loss  to  them. 

Nothing  that  American  advertisers  can  do  is  likely  to 
change  the  firm  conviction  on  the  part  of  almost  all  of 
the  upper  classes  throughout  South  America  that 
France  is  far  in  advance  of  the  rest  of  the  world  in  the 
manufacture  of  women's  clothing,  lingerie,  perfumes, 
toilet  articles  and  cosmetics.  The  shops  in  the  leading 
South  American  cities  which  retail  such  articles  have  a 
decidedly  French  atmosphere,  even  if  their  proprietors 
cannot  speak  a  word  of  French.  American  perfumes 
have  obtained  some  sale  among  the  lower  classes  of  the 
population,  who  as  a  rule  incline  to  the  use  of  strong 
brands  of  highly  scented  perfume,  but  among  the  well- 
to-do  the  French  makes  have  almost  unrestricted  sway. 

American  shoe  manufacturers  have  only  recently  been 
able  to  sell  shoes  in  South  America  made  from  the  same 
models  as  are  commonly  used  in  the  United  States.  The 
Latin  likes  a  long  pointed  shoe,  both  for  men  and 
women,  and  the  short,  square-toed  and  comfortable 
American  shoe  makes  no  appeal  to  him.  Shoes  are  not 
advertised  in  South  America  to  any  great  extent,  and 
the  average  purchaser  knows  nothing  of  the  brand 
which  he  buys.  He  simply  goes  into  the  shoe-store, 
picks  out  a  shoe  that  pleases  his  fancy  and  buys  it.  In 
view  of  this  situation  it  would  seem  that  a  properly 
managed  advertising  campaign  for  American  shoes, 
made  in  lasts  that  will  please  the  Latin  taste,  would 
have  an  excellent  chance  to  build  up  an  unlimited  mar- 
ket for  shoes  from  the  United  States.  High-grade  shoes 
are  not  as  a  rule  made  in  South  America,  and  every  na- 


98  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

tive  will  buy  as  good  footwear  as  he  can  afford,  although 
Brazil  is  rapidly  developing  into  a  shoe  manufacturing 
nation,  using  American  machinery  and  American 
models. 

The  people  of  South  America  are  great  believers  in 
patent  medicines.  In  this  respect  they  are  much  the 
same  as  the  American  people  in  the  twenty  years  from 
1870  to  1890,  when  patent  nostrums  of  all  sorts,  de- 
signed to  cover  every  evil  to  which  mankind  is  heir  or 
which  the  human  mind  is  capable  of  imagining,  were 
offered  for  sale.  The  complete  acceptance  by  South 
Americans  of  the  lower  classes  of  the  claims  of  patent 
medicine  manufacturers  is  pathetic.  As  a  physician  of 
many  years'  practice  in  South  and  Central  American 
countries,  I  had  more  diflftculty  in  contending  with  the 
patent  medicine  habit  than  with  any  other  custom. 
There  is,  apparently,  no  limit  to  the  gullibility  of  these 
people  in  the  matter  of  remedies  for  their  ailments. 

This  situation  has  two  phases  that  American  medi- 
cine manufacturers  must  bear  in  mind.  The  first  is 
that  the  French  early  obtained  what  almost  amounts 
to  a  monopoly  in  the  field  of  medicine  in  South  America, 
both  in  patent  and  proprietary  lines,  and  there  is  a 
pronounced  hesitancy  on  the  part  of  the  druggists  and 
the  general  public  to  accept  any  medicine  not  bearing 
the  magic  French  label.  The  other  is  that  the  claims 
made  for  the  French  remedies  are  so  far-fetched  that 
an  American  medicine  manufacturer  would  have  to  hire 
the  man  who  writes  the  advance  notices  for  Barnum's 
circus  to  get  sufficiently  superlative  language  adequate- 
ly to  cope  with  his  competitors  in  claiming  wonderful 
things  for  the  American  remedy. 

The  specific  means  that  have  been  used  to  popularize 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  99 

various  patent  medicines  are  given  in  greater  detail  in 
later  chapters  of  this  book  and  need  not  be  mentioned 
here.  However,  one  thing  for  American  advertisers  to 
bear  in  mind  is  this:  the  ethical  standards  to  which 
advertising  has  been  elevated  in  this  country  mean 
nothing  in  South  America.  By  that  is  not  meant  that 
dishonesty  in  any  form  can  be  excused,  but  the  fine 
shades  of  deference  to  public  opinion  and  to  the  merits 
of  competitive  goods  would  simply  be  over  the  heads 
of  the  South  American  public  and  would  be  more  likely 
to  subject  the  goods  which  were  used  by  them  to  ridi- 
cule than  to  praise.  Business  in  South  America  is 
universally  done  on  the  principle,  no  longer  in  vogue 
in  the  United  States — ^let  the  buyer  beware!  Any  in- 
timation in  advertising  for  South  American  circula- 
tion that  the  claims  of  the  article  are  understated  will 
only  excite  derision  and  ridicule.  Good  strong  claims 
are  the  rule  and  are  expected.  To  put  forward  only 
moderate  statements  of  the  value  of  the  article  offered 
for  sale  would  cause  suspicion  in  the  mind  not  only  of 
the  public,  but  of  the  trade  also. 

Advertiser-s  must  always  bear  in  mind  that  a  large 
class  of  people  in  South  America  to  whom  they  must 
appeal  are  the  emigrants  from  Europe  or  their  chil- 
dren. The  upper  class  of  old  time  South  Americans  are 
purchasers  of  high  grade  goods,  but  they  are  not  num- 
erous enough  to  support  an  important  market  for 
American  goods.  The  peasant  or  peon  class  is  most 
numerous  of  all,  but  in  millions  of  cases  the  purchasing 
power  of  these  people  is  practically  nil,  so  far  as  Ameri- 
can products  are  concerned.  The  real  market  lies 
among  the  people  who  have  emigrated  from  Spain,  Italy, 
Portugal,  Greece,  Germany,  France  and  other  countries 


100  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

and  who  have  retained  to  a  remarkable  degree  the  habits 
and  customs  to  which  they  became  accustomed  in  their 
fatherland. 

In  general,  and  so  far  as  this  important  element 
among  the  population  of  South  America  with  any  gen- 
uine purchasing  power  is  concerned,  it  may  be  taken  as 
a  safe  assumption  that  any  goods  offered  for  sale  that 
do  not  agree  substantially  with  what  they  have  been 
accustomed  to  at  home  will  be  unsuccessful.  It  is  now 
several  decades  in  the  United  States  since  immigration 
of  this  kind  was  an  important  element  in  American  life, 
and  our  merchandising  methods  have  been  changed  as 
the  old  generation  of  immigrants  died  off  and  their 
children  acquired  American  standards  of  thought  and 
living.  But  in  South  America  this  state  of  affairs  is 
forty  or  fifty  years  behind  what  it  is  in  the  United 
States.  To  get  a  true  perspective  in  judging  conditions 
the  American  advertiser  should  picture  to  himself  just 
what  methods  he  would  adopt  if  he  were  launching  an 
advertising  campaign  among  the  middle  classes  of  the 
American  people  of  1870,  instead  of  1920. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  families  that  are 
now  emigrating  from  Europe  to  South  America  are  the 
kind  who  bring  with  them  their  household  effects,  fur- 
niture, dishes,  clothing,  cooking  utensils  and  agricul- 
tural implements.  In  the  case  of  the  latter,  if  they  do 
not  bring  their  farming  tools,  they  immediately  set  about 
getting  ones  that  are  identical  with  those  to  which  they 
were  accustomed  at  home.  For  instance,  Italian  farm- 
ers are  partial  to  a  two-wheeled  cart  for  farm  work, 
made  with  wheels  often  six  and  eight  feet  in  diameter 
and  of  a  different  gage  from  American  wagons.  No  such 
vehicle  is  ever  seen  in  America.    These  carts  have  a  wide 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  101 

tread  and  form  ruts  in  the  road  that  make  it  impossible, 
in  many  eases,  to  use  agricultural  machinery  made  in 
the  United  States.  To  convert  this  first  generation  of 
immigrants  to  the  use  of  American  machinery  is  a 
difficult  job,  although  it  is  one  in  which  splendid  prog- 
ress has  been  made  by  the  American  manufacturers  who 
have  invaded  the  foreign  field. 

One  reason  for  the  success  of  American  farm  machin- 
ery manufacturers  in  the  South  American  advertising 
field  is  that  their  announcement  in  the  United  States  has 
always  been  of  a  pictorial  character,  with  little  depend- 
ance  upon  text  for  illustrating  the  workings  of  the  piece 
of  machinery  described.  The  methods  that  have  sold 
cream  separators  to  Swedes  in  Minnesota  who  could  not 
talk  English  have  also  been  successful  with  Italians  in 
Argentina.  This  class  of  advertising  has  always  been 
plain  in  character,  pictorial  as  to  demonstration,  high- 
ly colored  in  printing  and  acceptable  as  a  decorative 
feature  by  simple-minded  people  everywhere.  The  re- 
sult has  been  that  advertising  matter  sent  to  South 
America  by  American  farm  machinery  manufacturers  is 
never  wasted.  Even  if  the  farmer  into  whose  hands  it 
comes  is  hopelessly  out  of  the  question  as  a  potential 
purchaser  for  a  binder,  reaper,  tractor  or  thresher,  he 
will  put  the  advertisement  on  his  wall  and  thus  spread 
the  merits  of  the  machine  to  all  who  pass.  Thus  the 
wasted  circulation  of  this  class  of  advertising  is  almost 
non-existent.  There  are  many  lessons  for  other  adver- 
tisers to  draw  from  the  pioneer  work  done  by  the  big 
American  agricultural  implement  makers  in  the  foreign 
field. 

A  little  item  in  connection  with  the  two-wheeled  carts 
mentioned  above  may  be  of  interest.    The  ruts  in  the 


102  ADVEKTISING  FOR  TRADE 

roads  and  trails  of  Argentina  made  by  these  carts  are 
such  that  Ford  cars  have  no  difficulty  in  navigating 
along  the  same  routes.  The  result  has  been  that  Fords 
are  often  seen  in  out-of-the-way  comers  of  this  republic 
where  the  untrained  observer  would  never  expect  to 
find  a  motor  car.  Sometimes  Fords  are  to  be  seen  stand- 
ing in  front  of  adobe  farm  houses  which  contain  abso- 
lutely nothing  in  the  way  of  modem  conveniences  or 
anything  that  will  conduce  to  the  comfort  of  life.  It 
is  the  most  truly  international  of  all  institutions  and 
speaks  a  language  of  its  own  on  every  lonesome  trail 
in  the  world. 

The  selling  of  Ford  accessories  is  far  behind  the  rea- 
sonable possibilities  of  this  form  of  enterprise  every- 
where in  South  America.  "Printers'  Ink"  once  demon- 
strated that  when  a  Ford  car  is  purchased  in  the  United 
States,  it  is  possible  for  one  to  easily  spend  more 
money  buying  accessories  than  the  original  cost  of  the 
car.  Such  things  as  shock-absorbers  and  extra  appli- 
ances of  all  sorts  are  really  more  needed  in  South 
America  than  in  the  United  States,  because  outside  of 
a  few  miles  of  good  roads  in  the  suburbs  of  Buenos  Aires, 
Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Montevideo  there  are  no  modem 
highways  in  South  America  and  the  jolts  and  bumps  to 
which  travelers  who  use  the  automobile  are  subjected 
are  beyond  description. 

This  is  a  line  that  could  be  advertised  in  publications 
of  almost  any  sort,  because  pictorial  copy  demonstrat- 
ing the  merits  of  the  appliance  could  be  devised  that 
would  call  for  the  use  of  very  little  text  and  a  very 
limited  education  on  the  part  of  readers.  While  the 
Latin-American  does  not  possess  a  mind  readily  adapt- 
able to  mechanics  of  any  sort,  the  comparative  sim- 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  103 

plicity  of  the  Ford  and  its  hundreds  of  accessories  is 
such  that  in  all  parts  of  the  continent  illiterate  drivers 
are  found  who  appear  to  understand  their  "tin  Lizzies" 
very  well  and  to  coax  as  much  service  out  of  them  as 
their  American  brothers  are  able  to  do. 


CHAPTER  X 

Reaching  South  America  through  European  publications — Foreign 
groups  and  their  native  language  papers — Experience  of  a  camera  sup- 
ply house — ^Mail  order  methods  of  Parisian  dealers — New  system  being 
tried  in  Lima — Weekly  editions  of  European  papers — High  buying  power 
thus  reached. 

WE  now  come  to  the  phase  of  Latin-American 
advertising  which,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  does 
not  obtain  anywhere  else  in  the  world,  and 
it  is  a  phase  of  the  subject  which  must  receive  the  care- 
ful attention  of  any  genuinely  thorough  study  of  selling 
in  the  South  and  Central  American  continent.  This 
is  the  necessity  of  reaching  Latin-American  buyers 
through  European  periodicals.  Whatever  far-fetched 
impression  this  at  first  gives  the  reader,  investigation 
will  prove  it  to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable,  if  not  im- 
peratively necessary,  adjuncts  to  a  successful  campaign 
in  that  part  of  the  world. 

South  America  is  to-day  truly  a  melting-pot.  Immi- 
gration has  enriched  all  of  the  various  Latin  countries, 
but  it  is  immigration  of  a  type  and  character  that  is  not 
so  readily  assimilable  by  the  native  or  pioneer  stock 
as  was  the  emigration  that  came  to  the  United  States 
in  the  post-Civil  War  period  and  which  by  now  has  so 
largely  become  identified  with  the  native  American  stock 
that  it  is  practically  impossible  to  distinguish  it.  In 
South  America  the  contrary  is  true,  and  this  condition 
seems  likely  to  remain  for  several  generations  in  its 
present  state  of  transition. 

104 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  105 

The  foreigners  that  have  gone  to  South  America 
as  a  new  homeland  have  striven  hard  to  maintain  their 
racial  integrity.  Italians  in  nearly  all  Latin-Ameri- 
can countries  are  still  Italians  in  every  sense  of  the 
word;  Germans,  especially  in  the  southern  part  of 
Brazil  and  Chile,  have  striven  to  create  a  little  Germany 
in  their  new  lands;  the  English,  notoriously  the  most 
clannish  of  all  nationals,  have  to  a  certain  extent  ex- 
tended a  species  of  commercial  boycott,  so  far  as  indi- 
vidual purchasing  is  concerned,  against  every  article  of 
commerce  not  distinctly  British;  while  Spanish  immi- 
grants look  down  on  the  native  of  Spanish  ancestry  and 
assume  European  airs  to  accentuate  the  contrast  be- 
tween them  and  their  neighbors  who  really  are  of 
identical  blood. 

In  Chile  there  is  a  persistent  campaign  by  Germans 
against  everything  American,  and  the  power  of  the 
German  business  element  in  all  three  or  four  of  the 
leading  South  American  countries  is  not  to  be  despised. 
They  were  not  strong  enough  to  keep  Brazil  out  of  the 
World  War,  but  they  showed  the  extent  of  their  influ- 
ence clearly  in  the  case  of  Argentina  and  Chile.  In 
fact,  thirty-three  per  cent,  of  the  people  of  Chile  to-day 
are  estimated  to  be  German  or  of  German  descent,  while 
about  fifty  thousand  of  Valparaiso's  quarter  of  a  million 
inhabitants  are  of  British  parentage. 

It  is  a  fact  that  practically  every  better-class  immi- 
grant family  in  South  America  takes  its  favorite  Euro- 
pean paper,  maintaining  in  that  way  a  close  intellectual 
and  spiritual  contact  with  the  home  country  in  Europe 
which  has  been  a  constant  deterent  to  the  better  devel- 
opment of  a  truly  nationalistic  spirit  in  the  various 
Latin-American  countries.    The  Spaniard  from  Spain 


106  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

takes,  let  us  say,  "Blanco  Y  Negro,"  published  in  Ma- 
drid. The  Frenchmen  takes  one  of  the  illustrated 
Parisian  weeklies,  probably  "Je  Sais  Tout."  In  the 
barber-shops  of  South  America  that  sprightly,  colored, 
French  paper,  "La  Vie  Parisienne,"  takes  the  place  of 
its  spiritual  brother,  the  "Police  Gazette,"  in  entertain- 
ing waiting  patrons.  The  pictures  in  the  first  men- 
tioned publication  would  make  its  American  brother 
blush,  but — "It  is  the  custom,  Senor." 

The  British  in  South  America  seem  to  be  especially 
fond  of  the  "London  Graphic"  and  the  "Illustrated 
News."  I  have  never  visited  a  British  club  in  any 
Latin-American  city  or  any  business  establishment 
where  people  of  that  race  congregate  that  one  or  both 
of  these  publications  was  not  in  evidence.  A  Britisher 
will  believe  anything  he  sees  in  a  British  paper,  and 
little  that  he  sees  anywhere  else — a  practice  which  is 
not  without  its  good  points  in  such  a  place  as  South 
America.  The  Germans  are  not  as  keen  about  their 
home  papers  as  the  others,  but  the  circulation  of 
"Fliegende  Blatter"  and  a  number  of  German  comic 
papers  is  very  large  and  well  distributed  throughout 
Latin-America. 

It  seems  to  be  human  nature  to  deride  that  which 
is  near  at  hand  and  extol  that  which  is  far  away.  That 
is  the  psychological  parent,  probably,  of  the  condition 
of  which  I  am  speaking  in  this  chapter.  An  article  ad- 
vertised in  a  London  journal,  well  printed  and  on  good 
paper,  inevitably  excites  more  interest  in  the  English- 
man who  reads  such  an  announcement  when  he  is  four 
thousand  miles  from  home  than  does  an  advertisement 
of  identically  the  same  article  published  in  a  poorly 
printed  and  untidy  looking  paper  in  Spanish  or  Por- 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  107 

tuguese  in  South  America.  Do  not  say  in  answer  to  the 
above  that  the  advertisements  in  Latin- American  papers 
are  directed  to  Latins  and  not  to  Englishmen  and  other 
non-Latins;  such  a  restriction  would  eliminate  from 
the  buying  power  of  Latin-America,  especially  in  the 
big  cities,  the  very  element  which  wants  the  best  and 
is  able  to  pay  for  it.  Not  only  can  you  reach  the  Euro- 
pean who  lives  in  South  America  better  through  the 
medium  of  his  favorite  European  paper,  but  you  can 
acquire  more  prestige  with  the  native  Latin  who  hap- 
pens to  see  such  an  advertisement  than  if  it  had  been 
printed  in  his  own  native  paper. 

Far  pastures  always  look  greenest,  and  that  which 
comes  from  afar  has  always  seemed  to  the  Latin  to  be 
superior  to  something  that  may  easily  be  obtained  close 
at  hand.  This  is  in  part  a  heritage  from  the  day  when 
the  better  classes  throughout  Latin- America  were  in  the 
habit  of  buying  directly  from  Europe,  because  of  the 
general  difficulty  of  purchasing  high  grade  articles  in  any 
except  a  few  South  American  cities.  In  the  majority 
of  cases  these  goods  can  be  obtained  just  as  easily  in 
South  America  as  anywhere  in  the  world,  but  the  peo- 
ple have  not  realized  that  fact,  and  as  advertisers  can- 
not afford  to  wait  a  generation  or  so  until  the  public 
can  be  educated,  the  logical  policy  is  to  seize  the  most 
available  means  for  getting  their  story  across  the  foot- 
lights of  advertising  publicity.  The  foreign  periodical 
is  an  advertising  medium  of  the  first  rank  and  one  which 
no  intelligent  advertiser  can  afford  to  overlook. 

One  incident  out  of  many  that  I  have  personally  wit- 
nessed is  complete  enough  to  illustrate  exactly  what  I 
have  been  describing.  A  certain  large,  well  known  and 
thoroughly    reputable    American    camera    and   photo- 


108  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

graphic  supply  house  decided  that  South  America  would 
be  an  excellent  field  for  its  goods  and  that  Buenos  Aires 
would  be  the  best  city  in  which  to  locate  a  well-stocked 
and  adequate  Latin-American  branch,  both  of  which 
decisions  were  obviously  true.  The  store  was  duly 
opened  and  an  advertising  campaign  was  inaugurated 
which,  according  to  the  best  information  and  experience 
then  available  as  a  guide,  had  every  reason  to  promote 
success.    None  came,  however. 

At  the  same  time  this  company  was  conducting  an 
advertising  campaign  in  a  number  of  the  better  known 
European  papers,  such  papers  as  have  been  described 
here  as  popular  with  the  people  of  England,  France, 
Germany,  Italy,  Spain  and  Portugal  who  have  immi- 
grated to  Latin-America.  The  firm  also  had  a  Paris  and 
London  agency,  and  before  long  a  surprisingly  large 
number  of  orders  began  arriving  at  these  offices  from 
various  countries  throughout  South  and  Central  Amer- 
ica. The  company  was  greatly  puzzled  to  account  for 
this  state  of  affairs  and  an  investigation  showed  that 
the  orders  were  the  result,  not  of  the  advertising  or  the 
strenuous  efforts  to  obtain  business  made  by  the  Buenos 
Aires  house,  but  the  result  of  the  advertisements  placed 
by  them  in  European  papers  which  afterwards  were 
read  by  people  in  Latin-America  from  whom  the  orders 
came. 

This  experience  was  so  clear  and  the  lessons  to  be 
drawn  from  it  so  obvious  that  the  company  immediately, 
changed  its  South  American  policy  in  order  to  take 
advantage  of  this  peculiar  but  easily  understood  state 
of  affairs.  By  intelligent  manipulation  of  copy,  a  cam- 
paign was  worked  out  which  exerted  a  subtle  appeal  on 
the  Latin  mind,  while  neglecting  in  no  way  the  funda- 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  109 

mental  necessity  of  making  the  European  campaign  pay 
its  own  way.  The  plan  was  successful,  and  it  was  car- 
ried on  long  enough  to  prove  that  Latin- America  cannot 
be  covered  without  some  attention  being  paid  to  this 
part  of  an  advertising  campaign. 

Another  plan  that  only  recently  has  been  inaugu- 
rated is  working  well  and  has  a  direct  relation  to  what 
has  just  been  written.  There  is  a  large  mail-order  ad- 
vertising business  which  has  been  built  up  by  the  high 
grade  department  stores  and  womens'  shops  of  Paris 
and  the  better  class  families  of  the  different  South 
American  countries.  The  stores  advertise  in  Paris 
Journals  which  are  read  in  South  America,  and  orders 
promptly  follow.  This  business  proved  so  attractive 
that  local  agencies  where  samples  may  be  inspected  have 
now  been  established  by  at  least  three  Parisian  depart- 
ment stores.  The  plan  was  described  as  follows  in  a 
recent  issue  of  "The  Americas,"  the  well  known  maga- 
zine formerly  published  by  The  National  City  Bank  of 
New  York,  which  has  branches  in  all  leading  South 
American  cities: 

An  interesting  development  along  selling  lines  is  taking  place 
in  certain  South  American  cities,  particularly  at  lima,  Peru. 
Three  of  the  large  Parisian  department  stores  have  estabhshed 
retail  agencies  in  that  city  and  are  carrying  very  attractive  stocks 
of  samples  for  inspection  by  the  public.  A  rapidly  growing 
volume  of  business  is  being  built  up  direct  between  consumers 
and  the  home  offices  of  the  stores  in  Paris,  most  of  the  purchases 
being  delivered  direct  to  the  purchaser  by  parcel  post  from 
France. 

The  establishments  in  question  are  the  Au  Bon  March6,  An 
Printemps  and  Aux  Galeries  Lafayette  de  Paris.  Most  of  the 
sales  80  far  have  been  of  feminine  wearing  apparel,  millinery 


110  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

and  similar  articles,  but  preparations  are  being  made  to  greatly 
extend  the  scope  of  this  sort  of  selling.  Individual  transactions 
are  usually  not  large,  but  in  the  aggregate  they  are  reaching 
considerable  proportions,  and  the  Lima  branch  of  The  National 
City  Bank  reports  that  there  is  a  steadily  growing  demand  for 
French  exchange  in  that  market,  which  demonstrates  the  growth 
of  the  movement.  Inasmuch  as  French  merchandise  stands  very 
high  in  public  estimation  all  through  South  America,  it  is  plain 
that  these  important  Paris  stores  have  seized  an  unusually  favor- 
able opportunity  to  build  up  a  profitable  line  of  business  with 
very  small  overhead  expense. 

Such  a  development  has  unquestionably  been  made 
possible  by  the  favorable  mental  attitude  created  toward 
the  goods  of  these  stores  among  the  women  of  Lima's 
well-to-do  families,  because  Lima  is  a  city  where  the 
native  press  is  particularly  backward  and  where  every 
one  with  any  cultural  aspirations  takes  some  foreign 
paper.  Paris  is  the  fashion  center  of  the  world,  and 
an  article  of  female  apparel  or  for  household  use  will 
receive  a  much  wider  and  more  respectful  hearing  when 
advertised  in  one  of  the  high  class  French  papers  than 
if  much  more  space  were  used  in  a  paper  printed  in 
South  America.  The  fact  that  the  goods  are  made  in 
the  United  States  will  not  materially  detract  from  the 
atmosphere  of  French  good  taste  given  them  by  an  ad- 
vertisement emanating  from  Paris.  The  Latin  is  a 
temperamental  being;  he  will  argue  to  himself,  or  she 
to  herself,  that  an  article  must  be  worth  his  or  her  at- 
tention if  its  manufacturers  had  enough  vision  to  adver- 
tise it  in  his  or  her  favorite  publication. 

Advertising  is  largely  the  science  of  adapting  human 
psychology  to  your  own  purposes,  and  here  we  have 
an  unusually  clear  illustration  of  the  principles  on 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  111 

which  sound  advertising  is,  or  should  be,  founded.  If  a 
South  American  thinks  more  highly  of  an  article  be- 
cause he  sees  it  advertised  in  a  European  paper,  that  is 
the  place  to  advertise  it.  While  it  is  essential,  as 
pointed  out  in  other  chapters,  that  Americans  should 
buy  a  considerable  volume  of  advertising  space  in  Latin- 
American  publications,  because  such  a  course  will  put 
them  on  an  equal  footing  with  other  selling  nations  in 
controlling  editorial  policy,  the  matter  of  giving  atten- 
tion to  European  publications  must  not  be  overlooked. 

Americans  have  been  too  slow  to  change  their  methods 
in  this  respect  and  in  countless  cases  have  continued  to 
operate  on  the  principle  that  what  proves  successful  in 
the  United  States  should  also  be  successful  in  South 
America.  The  only  trouble  with  this  hypothesis  is  that 
it  is  erroneous.  Give  the  South  American  his  advertis- 
ing in  the  way  he  wants  it ;  that  is  what  the  Germans  did 
before  1914  and  they  proved  beyond  question  that  the 
idea  was  the  correct  one. 

Many  of  the  better  class  European  and  English  news- 
papers print  weekly  editions  which  circulate  more  wide- 
ly in  South  America  than  do  the  daily  editions.  With 
from  three  to  five  weeks'  delay  in  delivery,  it  is  obvious 
that  a  South  American  cannot  depend  much  on  a  daily 
paper  published  across  the  Atlantic,  but  this  is  not  true 
of  the  weekly  editions,  which  are  largely  patronized 
and  carefully  read.  For  instance,  the  "London  Times" 
and  the  "Manchester  Guardian"  have  weekly  editions 
in  which  all  the  more  important  news  of  the  week  is 
carried,  and  both  of  these  papers  circulate  widely 
throughout  the  Latin-American  countries.  Any  first- 
class  advertising  agency  offering  to  place  business  out- 
side of  the  United  States  should  be  able  to  give  an 


112  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

American  client  a  statement  of  the  circulation  of  the 
more  important  European  papers,  tabulated  by  coun- 
tries. 

This  is  a  phase  of  South  American  advertising  that 
is  especially  valuable  on  the  East  Coast,  that  is,  in 
Venezuela,  Brazil,  Uruguay,  Paraguay  and  Argentina. 
The  west  coast  countries — Colombia,  Ecuador,  Bolivia, 
Chile  and  Peru — are  a  little  different,  because  of  cir- 
cumstances surrounding  dealer  distribution.  All  along 
the  West  Coast  the  commission  house  is  supreme,  and 
advertising  directed  to  the  eye  of  the  consumer  does  not 
have  the  chance  to  pull  returns  on  that  side  of  the  con- 
tinent that  it  has  on  the  Atlantic  side,  where  consumers' 
demand  is  really  beginning  to  make  itself  felt.  In 
Argentina,  Brazil  and  Uruguay,  particularly,  the  Euro- 
pean paper  is  a  factor  in  securing  the  right  kind  of 
publicity  that  must  not  be  overlooked.  At  the  same 
time  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  hardly  any  angle  of 
the  entire  advertising  problem  has  received  so  little 
attention  from  American  advertisers.  Foreign  lan- 
guages are  a  diflftcult  matter  to  overcome  for  American 
business  men.  Herein  is  offered  them  an  opportunity 
to  bend  to  their  own  uses  the  best  type  of  European 
publications  which  reach  the  discriminating  class  of 
Latin-American  buyers. 


EN  REGENT- STREET  EN    LONDRES 

el  punto  de  cita  de  la  jnas  alta  soeiedad,  los  Gentlemen  dan 
prueba  de  un  refinado  buen  gusto,  perfumando  su  aliento 
desDues  de  fumar  con  una  tableta 

WRIGLEYS: 

(Se   prODuncia    "EIGLE") 

Bellciosas,  finas,  se  las  saborea  hoy  en  las  grandes  capiules  eurOpcas  y 
Horteajnericajia£.  A  su  sabor  exquisito,  une  propiedades  beneficas:  aplacau  la 
sed,  caiman  el  sistema  nervioso,  dan  a  la  boca  una  frescura  envidiable  y  favo- 
recen  la  digestion.  — ^Duran  mucho,  pero  no  se  tragan^'* — £n*/ ce^Sffi'Ct'idf) 

Se  venden  en  tres  gustos  diferentes:  Spearirint  (menta),  Doublemint  (men- 
ta  doble)  y  Juicy  Fruit  (fruta  surtida).  Todos  son  deliciosos. 

Pidalas  por  su  nombre  en  las  farma. 
cias,  confiterias,  cigarrerias  y  almacc- 
nes.  —  20  centavos  el'  paquetc. 


The  result  of  letting  an  English  agent  for  an  American  product 
write  copy,  and  use  a  local  illustrator.  Regent  Street  in  the  abom- 
inable wooid-cut  looks  like  a  Western  mining-town  in  pioneer  days. 
The  ad  is  totally  lacking  in  eflfectiveness. 


EI  mejor  Purificador  de  la  Sangre 
V  Excelente  Hntirreumdtico. 

Mo  requkre  dieta.  ni  gotiCd  dC  PajaritOS 

produce  irntacion  Caracas 


KOLYNOS 


es  la  pasta  dentifrica  de  fama'  mundial 
E.   DAVIS 


Three  patent-medicine  advertisements  of  native  origin.  Never  allow  a 
native  to  prepare   your  copy  or  illustrations. 

There  is  nothing  suggestive  of  dental  paste  in  the  "Kolynos"  ad — not  even 
a  tooth-brush  or  a  tube  of  the  paste  appears — but  the  semi-nude  lady  is  in 
evidence  and  from  her  attitude  the  illustration  might  serve  for  good  "corn 
cure"  copy. 

Why  the  yowling  black  cat  with  its  paws  stuck  in  the  "excellent  rheumatic 
blood   purifier"   was  injected   into  the  copy   is  left  to  your  imagination. 

Neither  is  there  any  great  amount  of  judgment  displayed  in  the  half-tone 
showing  the  front  of  a  house  which  the  advertisement  says  "is  an  honor  to 
the  capital,"  the  copy  and  the  illustration  being  designed  to  increase  the  sale 
of  a  tonic. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Red  tape  and  the  Latin  mind — DiflBculties  caused  by  custom-house 
officials — Use  of  American  or  English  names — Shortcomings  of  post- 
office  and  custom-house  employes — Large  saving  through  buying  adver- 
tising matter  at  auction — ^Never  pack  advertising  matter  with  mer- 
chandise. 

OF  all  the  difficulties  that  lie  in  the  path  of 
American  merchants  and  advertisers  who  de- 
sire to  enter  the  South  American  field,  none 
are  more  persistent  or  annoying  than  those  that  come 
from  official  red  tape.  The  Latin  mind  seems  to  have 
a  natural  gift  for  devising  schemes  to  thwart  honest 
effort  in  all  directions.  Realizing  that  the  seller  is 
pretty  generally  at  the  mercy  of  circumstances  to  a  far 
greater  extent  than  the  buyer,  the  official  Latin  mind 
thereupon  sets  out  to  make  business  as  difficult  as  pos- 
sible for  outsiders  and  as  lucrative  as  possible  for  the 
official  who  has  the  opportunity  to  make  trouble  for 
those  who  seek  to  bring  goods  into  his  country.  This 
is  particularly  true  of  the  custom-houses  of  the  various 
Latin  republics,  no  two  of  which  follow  the  same  regula- 
tions nor  concerning  any  two  of  which  can  any  general 
Statement  be  made,  save  that  they  are  usually  in  charge 
of  scheming  individuals. 

The  custom-houses  of  all  Latin-American  countries 
are  veritable  stumbling-blocks  in  the  path  of  honest 
business.  As  a  rule,  they  are  administered  by  the  local 
politician  who  happens  to  be  on  top  at  the  moment,  an 
individual  who  lives  for  himself  alone  and  who  has  no 

113 


114  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

regard  for  his  country  or  his  countrymen.  His  one  ob- 
ject is  to  accumulate  sufficient  wealth  to  provide  means 
for  a  trip  to  the  Continent,  where  he  can  indulge  him- 
self in  dissipation.  He  considers  it  the  chief  function 
of  his  office  to  embarrass  the  honest  merchant  who  is 
attempting  to  build  up  a  business,  and  the  schemes  for- 
mulated to  impose  fines  and  confiscation  of  the  goods 
imported  are  as  unique  and  outrageous  as  they  are 
numerous.  There  is  positively  no  Latin-American  cus- 
tom-house free  from  this  charge  and  few,  if  any,  cus- 
toms officials  who  have  not  during  their  official  careers, 
indulged  themselves  in  the  national  hobby  of  graft  at 
the  expense  of  their  own  people.  Collecting  customs  in 
Latin-America  seems  to  be  in  the  same  class  with  en- 
forcing prohibition  in  the  United  States — there  is  some- 
thing inherently  vicious  in  the  work  that  breaks  down 
the  small  amount  of  moral  fiber  which  those  engaged  in 
it  are  likely  to  have.  I  have  known  many  of  these  ty- 
rants to  come  into  office  in  rags  and  tatters,  and  to 
wax  affluent  and  prosperous  within  a  few  months. 

Furthermore,  in  substantially  all  of  the  so-called 
"republics"  of  Latin-America  the  duties  levied  against 
advertising  material  of  all  kinds  and  classes  are  posi- 
tively exhorbitant.  It  may  be  set  down  as  a  safe  rule 
that  the  higher  the  grade  of  the  advertising  souvenir, 
the  greater  the  duty  that  will  be  assessed  against  it. 
Colored  picture-cards  and  posters,  generally,  pay  a  duty 
so  high  that  in  many  localities  they  cannot  be  used.  All 
illustrated  advertising  material  comes  under  this  ban. 
Nevertheless,  due  to  the  large  percentage  of  illiteracy 
and  the  small  amount  of  colored  and  illustrated  adver- 
tising in  these  countries,  material  of  this  nature  is  per- 
haps the  best  medium  to  get  your  message  to  the  masses. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  115 

Of  course  it  is  possible  to  ship  this  class  of  propaganda 
into  a  country  by  connivance  with  the  local  customs 
official  and  the  payment  of  bribes  for  less  than  the  legal 
rate  of  duty.  This,  however,  is  more  or  less  costly  and 
always  uncertain,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  entire 
transaction  is  entirely  dependent  upon  the  whim 
of  the  official  to  be  dealt  with.  In  addition,  there  is  no 
fixed  rate  for  bribing  these  men.  What  was  acceptable 
yesterday  may  to-morrow  fall  far  short  of  the  requisite 
sum,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  collector  may  have  lost 
considerable  money  overnight,  or  else  needs  more  coin 
of  the  realm  with  which  to  purchase  knickknacks  for 
some  dulce  curazon — the  Spanish  term  for  sweetheart. 

The  tenure  of  office  of  the  average  collector  is  usually 
short,  which  only  serves  to  aggrevate  the  situation.  The 
hungry  politicians  are  continually  using  their  influence 
and  "pull"  to  oust  the  man  in  office  and  secure  the  soft 
berths  for  themselves.  Therefore  the  amount  of  gratuity 
passed  out  to  one  collector  may  not  appeal  to  the  new 
occupant's  idea  as  a  proper  propitiatory  sum.  In  Latin- 
America  these  amounts  always  increase.  No  new  office- 
holder was  ever  known  to  reduce  the  sum  sufficient  for 
bribery. 

There  is,  however,  a  simple  and  certain  way — strange 
as  it  may  seem — to  evade  the  payment  of  duties  on  ad- 
vertising material  of  all  kinds.  I  believe  that  I  am  the 
author  of  the  plan,  and  it  affords  me  great  pleasure  to 
set  it  forth  in  detail  for  the  benefit  of  my  readers  with 
the  assurance  that  by  its  use  I  have  saved  for  firms  thou- 
sands of  dollars  which  otherwise  would  have  been  paid 
to  these  brigands  and  squandered  by  unworthy  recipi- 
ents. In  view  of  this  unfavorable  and  unreasonable 
situation,  it  has  been  my  practice  to  turn  the  tables 


116  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

upon  these  unscrupulous  individuals  in  a  simple  yet 
thoroughly  efficient  manner. 

When  I  have  decided  upon  an  advertising  campaign 
in  any  given  Latin-American  country,  the  requisite 
amount  of  cards,  hangers,  booklets,  posters,  banners 
and  other  materials  are  boxed  and  shipped  to  the  vari- 
ous ports,  consigned  to  some  man  of  straw.  I  prefer  to 
use  an  American  or  English  name  for  the  consignee. 
Under  no  circumstances  should  a  Latin-American  name 
be  used  for  this  purpose,  for  it  might  develop  that  a  per- 
son answering  to  that  name  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
custom-house,  and  it  would  be  entirely  in  keeping  with 
the  reputation  of  customs  collectors  to  accuse  him  of  at- 
tempting to  defraud  the  government  and  impose  a  fine 
upon  him.  The  cases  containing  the  advertising  matter 
should  be  marked,  numbered  and  addressed  as  if  they 
were  an  ordinary  shipment.  A  consular  invoice  should 
also  accompany  them. 

Upon  their  arrival  at  the  local  port  they  will  be  stored 
in  the  customs  warehouse  to  await  claim  by  the  alleged 
consignee.  At  the  expiration  of  sixty,  ninety  or  one 
hundred  and  twenty  days,  in  accordance  with  the  local 
laws,  these  goods  will  be  advertised  for  sale  to  the  high- 
est bidder. 

Very  naturally,  an  assorted  lot  of  advertising  mate- 
rial for  medicines,  for  example,  have  no  value  to  any 
merchant,  or  to  any  one  else,  in  fact.  By  previous  ar- 
rangement with  your  agent,  or  some  merchant  who  has 
been  advised  of  the  despatch  of  these  goods  to  his  port, 
they  can  be  bid  in  very  cheaply  and  delivered  to  the 
person  most  concerned  with  their  use,  who  thereupon 
can  proceed  to  distribute  them  in  any  appropriate  and 
efficient  manner.  I  have  repeatedly  shipped  such  goods 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  117 

to  practically  ever  Latin- American  republic  in  this  man- 
ner and  have  never  yet  been  caused  any  trouble ;  neither 
have  I  involved  my  co-conspirator  in  any  controversy 
with  the  government  through  the  part  he  played  in  the 
transaction.  In  Venezuela,  for  instance,  on  one  shipment 
alone  the  duties  would  have  amounted  to  much  more 
than  one  thousand  dollars,  yet  the  local  wholesale  drug- 
gist bought  the  entire  consignment  at  auction  for  eighty- 
five  dollars. 

Of  course  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  local 
agent  who  purchases  the  goods  must  be  compensated 
for  the  part  he  takes  in  the  affair,  and  it  is  proper  to 
add,  as  conditions  warrant,  a  small  bonus  to  the  agent 
or  buyer,  care  being  taken  to  specify  that  the  same  is 
"for  clerical  and  other  expenses  which  you  must  have 
forgotten,"  and  not  in  the  nature  of  a  tip  or  gratuity. 
This  helps  to  keep  your  secret  safe  and  at  the  same  time 
shows  that  you  are  duly  grateful  for  his  cooperation. 

In  this  connection  it  might  be  well  to  emphasize  the 
fact  that  the  post  offices  and  the  postal  employes  of  all 
Latin-American  countries  are  below  the  standard  of 
those  in  the  United  States.  Thefts  of  all  kinds  are  com- 
mon, and  it  is  practically  impossible  to  convict  any  one 
of  these  crimes.  In  fact,  the  appropriation  of  money 
or  articles  of  value  from  the  mails  has  come  to  be  looked 
upon  as  a  sort  of  prerogative.  I  have  known  a  postal 
clerk  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  to  open  a  letter  containing  an 
American  letter  of  credit  for  five  thousand  dollars,  and 
when  he  found  that  he  could  not  use  it,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  banks  would  not  recognize  him  as  the  legit- 
imate holder,  to  call  upon  the  person  to  whose  order  it 
was  drawn  and  offer  to  sell  it  to  him  for  one  hundred 
dollars.    This  is  not  fiction,  but  fact,  as  any  person  who 


118  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

has  resided  in  any  Latin-American  country  can  verify. 
There  is  no  way  of  overcoming  a  situation  which  is 
bound  to  exist  as  long  as  low  wages  are  paid  to  persons 
whose  standards  of  morals  are  not  highly  developed. 

A  certain  amount  of  security,  however,  may  result 
from  sending  packages  of  value  or  letters  of  importance 
by  registered  mail,  but  even  this  means  of  attempting 
to  thwart  the  unscrupulous  is  not  always  a  success. 
Sending  goods  by  express  minimizes  the  danger  of  theft 
to  a  great  extent,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  common 
carrier  is  responsible  until  the  goods  are  delivered  and 
a  receipt  given  for  them.  To-day  the  express  service  to 
Latin-American  nations  is  expanding  and  improving, 
and  it  offers  a  very  dependable  means  of  carrying  on 
business. 

In  making  up  shipments  of  goods,  a  word  of  caution 
may  be  appropriate  relative  to  packing.  Under  no  cir- 
cumstances is  it  proper  to  fill  in  the  spaces  or  inter- 
stices between  goods  with  advertising  material  such  as 
cards,  blotters  or  the  like.  If  this  is  done,  the  chances 
are  that  nine  times  out  of  ten  the  entire  shipment  will 
be  assessed  as  advertising  material  and  exhorbitant  duty 
collected  on  the  same.  The  further  fact  that  you  have 
not  mentioned  the  advertising  material  in  the  invoice 
may  mean  that  the  customs  collector  will  insist  that  you 
were  attempting  to  smuggle  goods  into  the  country  and 
an  additional  fine  or  a  jail  sentence  may  be  imposed 
upon  the  consignee,  all  of  which  will  get  you  into  much 
disfavor  with  your  customer  and  tend  to  drive  him  into 
the  hands  of  other  merchants  more  familiar  with  Latin- 
American  customs  methods. 


CHAPTER  Xn 

No  equivalent  services  in  South  America  to  those  of  United  States — 
Agencies  only  publishers'  representatives — No  understanding  of  service 
— The  special  edition  evil — Need  for  American  agencies — Ridiculous 
errors  now  made — Money  spent  without  adequate  return — Lack  of  co- 
herency— Possible  corrective  measures. 

ADVERTISING  agencies  have  reached  such  a 
high  state  of  development  in  the  United  States, 
and  are  constantly  giving  such  excellent  serv- 
ice to  their  clients  and  to  the  public,  that  it  seems  in- 
credible that  more  progress  in  this  direction  has  not 
been  made  in  South  America.  But  the  fact  remains 
that  in  the  entire  continent,  and  also  in  Cuba  and  Mex- 
ico, there  is  not  a  single  organization  for  giving  such 
advertising  service  as  we  expect  from  the  better  class 
agencies  in  this  country. 

The  agency  field,  as  we  understand  that  term,  is  en- 
tirely untouched  not  only  in  the  cities  of  lesser  import- 
ance, but  in  Buenos  Aires,  Montevideo  and  Rio,  the 
three  leading  cities  of  the  East  Coast,  while  in  Chile, 
Peru  and  Colombia  such  things  are  absolutely  unheard 
of.  This  is  probably  the  weakest  point  in  the  entire 
scheme  of  South  American  advertising  relations,  and 
it  is  a  never-ending  source  of  trouble  to  American  firms 
who  try  to  enter  the  South  American  field  and  whose 
plans  for  cari-ying  out  advertising  campaigns  are  based 
on  expected  cooperation  from  South  American  agencies. 
Such  alleged  advertising  agencies  as  are  now  in  oper- 
ation in  South  America  are  limited  to  Buenos  Aires  and 

119 


120  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Rio,  but  in  neither  city  are  the  so-called  agencies  any- 
thing more  than  booking  offices  through  which  space 
may  be  ordered  and  insertions  checked.  Advertising 
service,  as  we  know  it,  is  as  lacking  in  South  America 
as  bull  fights  in  New  York.  There  are  a  number  of  these 
presumptive  agencies  in  the  larger  cities  which  claim  to 
be  real  agencies  and  which  will  undertake  to  provide  al- 
most any  conceivable  service,  but  the  experience  of 
those  who  have  tried  to  do  business  with  them  as  a  rule 
has  been  uniformly  unsatisfactory.  Advertising  agency 
service  is  a  science  and  on  a  continent  where  the  true 
value,  idea  and  measure  of  the  same  is  practically  an 
unknown  quantity  it  is  almost  impossible  to  create  such 
a  condition.  If  it  is  ever  developed  it  will  be  by  meanSf 
of  Americans  using  American  methods  and  not  by  any- 
thing native  to  the  South  American  mind  or  character 
which  cannot  comprehend  the  meaning  of  this  word  as 
we  understand  it  in  the  United  States. 

In  practically  all  the  advertising  agencies  now  exist- 
ing in  South  America  a  situation  exists  that  would  not 
be  tolerated  for  a  moment  in  the  United  States.  This 
is  a  peculiar  species  of  relationship  existing  between  cer- 
tain papers  and  the  agency  manager.  By  reason  of  this 
relationship,  the  agency  endeavors  to  throw  as  much 
advertising  copy  as  possible  to  certain  papers,  utterly 
regardless  of  the  true  interests  of  the  advertiser.  The 
advertiser  is  not  the  client;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  the 
newspaper  owner  with  whom  he  has  established  rela- 
tions that  the  agency  manager  endeavors  to  serve.  Such 
a  condition  explains  in  itself  how  backward  in  ethics 
and  in  the  first  principles  of  advertising  science  are  these 
alleged  advertising  agencies. 

Only  one  or  two  of  the  advertising  agencies  now  doing 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  121 

business  in  South  America  are  experienced.  Contrary 
to  the  system  now  in  vogue  in  most  parts  of  the  United 
States,  the  advertising  agent  simply  inserts  copy  for  the 
advertiser  without  contributing  anything  in  the  way  of 
technical  service,  selling  plans,  intelligent  space  dis- 
tribution, copy  writing  or  any  of  the  many  ways  in 
which  American  advertising  agencies  serve  the  best 
interests  of  their  advertisers. 

One  of  the  crying  evils  of  the  advertising  business  in 
South  America,  particularly  in  Buenos  Aires,  is  the 
reprehensible  system  of  selling  out  special  editions,  or 
special  pages,  to  advertising  agents.  The  agents  get 
this  space  at  a  low  rate  and  then  farm  it  out  to  solici- 
tors, who  get  what  they  can  for  it.  In  this  way  both 
the  agency  and  the  solicitor  gets  whatever  he  can  out  of 
the  proposition,  with  the  result  that  no  stable  rate  can 
be  maintained,  and  merchants  are  continually  being 
hounded  by  a  lot  of  irresponsible  solicitors  representing 
no  one  but  themselves  to  take  space  in  various  special 
editions.  When  any  agency  undertakes  to  put  over  a 
scheme  of  this  sort,  it  immediately  loads  the  space  it 
has  bought  with  as  much  copy  as  possible  from  foreign 
advertisers  with  whom  it  is  doing  business.  The  rate 
charged  the  client  is  always  as  high  as  the  trafflc  will 
bear,  and  has,  of  course,  little  relation  to  the  rate  which 
the  agency  actually  paid  the  publisher  of  the  paper  for 
the  space. 

This  entire  situation  is  a  discouraging  one,  and  it  will 
be  no  better  until  American  advertising  agencies,  con- 
ducted by  Americans  who  understand  and  pursue  Ameri- 
can business  standards,  are  in  operation  in  the  leading 
South  American  and  Central  American  cities.  There  is 
no  doubt  in  my  mind  that,  starting  with  Havana  and 


122  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Mexico  City,  every  important  South  American  city 
would  support  a  bonafide,  honestly  managed,  Ameri- 
can advertising  agency.  Such  a  man  or  such  an  agency 
would  have  to  be  of  high  character  and  broad  culture 
to  carry  out  to  the  best  advantage  the  trade  campaigns 
of  American  goods.  It  would  be  possible  in  this  man- 
ner to  clear  the  entire  continent  of  many  evils  which 
now  make  advertising  such  a  hit-or-miss  affair. 

Such  agencies  should  be  started  first  in  Buenos  Aires 
and  Rio  de  Janeiro,  extending  as  business  developed  to 
other  cities.  Montevideo  can  be  controlled  from  Buenos 
Aires  and  Santiago  can  be  handled  from  Valparaiso, 
but  outside  of  those  two  it  is  hard  to  cover  the  big 
cities  intelligently  without  an  office  in  each  one.  Such 
agencies  could  insist  on  a  better  standard  of  ethics 
throughout  the  advertising  trade.  Rates  could  be  stab- 
ilized, circulations  would  have  to  be  proved  to  the  sat- 
isfaction of  the  agency  manager,  credits  would  be  short- 
ened and  payments  would  be  greatly  expedited,  a  mat- 
ter of  vital  interest  to  South  American  publishers. 

Greatest  in  importance,  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
American  advertiser,  however,  would  be  the  opportunity 
thus  offered  to  get  in  touch  with  the  local  population 
on  the  same  intelligent  basis  that  advertisers  demand 
in  their  American  advertising  copy.  Some  of  the  crimes 
in  the  way  of  advertising  now  being  perpetrated  on  un- 
suspecting American  advertisers  in  South  America  are 
enough  to  make  angels  weep.  One  has  to  be  on  the 
ground  and  to  have  a  good  working  knowledge  of  the 
native  language  and  idioms  to  understand  how  laugh- 
able many  of  the  present  efforts  are. 

I  could  fill  half  this  volume  with  accoants  and  illus- 
trations of  ridiculous  pieces  of  advertising  copy  inserted 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  123 

In  South  American  publications  either  by  mail  from 
North  America  or  by  local  agents  who  knew  little  and 
cared  less  for  the  true  requirements  of  the  client  they 
were  supposed  to  represent.  One  of  the  common  mis- 
takes is  that  of  using  Spanish  or  Portuguese  words 
having  a  double  meaning  or  having  two  distinct  mean- 
ings of  such  a  character  that  only  one  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  language  can  understand  them. 
Unfortunately,  both  Spanish  and  Portuguese  have  this 
characteristic,  and  in  consequence  the  errors  made  in 
Amercian  advertising  copy  are  legion. 

This  difficulty  is  one  that  could  be  completely  elim- 
inated if  the  services  of  a  first  class  advertising  agency 
in  close  touch  with  the  local  situation  were  available. 
The  agency  would  have  to  be  in  charge  of  an  American 
with  an  excellent  knowledge  of  Spanish  or  Portuguese, 
according  to  the  country,  and  such  men  are  not  easy  to 
find.  He  would  have  to  be  not  only  a  good  advertising 
man  from  the  standpoint  of  advertising  technique,  but 
he  would  also  have  to  be  a  shrewd  business  man  who 
was  capable  of  coping  with  the  sagacious  men  who  are 
running  most  of  South  America's  newspapers. 

Some  of  the  worst  errors  in  judgment  in  the  present 
haphazard  methods  of  advertising  in  South  America  are 
due  to  a  peculiar  slant  of  the  Latin  brain,  which  seems 
unable  to  realize  that  illustrations  in  an  advertisement 
are  an  integral  part  of  the  copy  and  must  have  an  inti- 
mate connection  with  it.  In  most  South  American 
newspaper  offices  a  large  supply  of  miscellaneous  cuts 
are  kept  on  hand.  When  a  compositor  is  setting  up  an 
"ad"  he  goes  to  the  cut  cabinet,  selects  at  random  some 
picture  which  appeals  to  his  mind  as  suitable,  and  the 
result  of  his  judgment  is  printed  as  an  advertisement. 


124  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Naturally  the  results  oftentimes  surpass  the  greatest 
efforts  of  a  professional  humorist. 

In  one  Latin  newspaper  in  my  collection  is  a  picture 
of  two  Americans  eating  a  well  known  American  break- 
fast food  in  an  American  dining-car.  The  car  is  shown 
passing  through  a  typical  western  blizzard,  with  snow 
covering  the  ground  and  desolation  apparent  on  every 
hand.  This  picture  was  used  in  the  advertisement  of  a 
real  estate  firm  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  where  it  is  so  hot 
most  months  of  the  year  that  snow  would  melt  before 
it  came  within  a  thousand  miles  of  the  place.  In  an 
advertisement  of  American  chewing  gum  printed  in  a 
paper  in  the  same  city  a  young  dandy  is  seen  getting  his 
shoes  shined  and  debonairly  smoking  a  cigarette.  There 
is  nothing  whatever  to  suggest  chewing  gum,  but  under- 
neath, in  large  letters,  is  printed  "Chew Chewing 

Gum." 

The  use  of  pictures  of  undraped  females  is  so  gen- 
eral throughout  South  America  that  such  cuts  find  their 
way  into  every  conceivable  advertisement.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  of  patent  medicines  and  nostrums  of  all 
sorts,  particularly  remedies  advertised  to  cure  venereal 
disease.  Taste,  as  we  understand  the  term,  is  unknown, 
and  it  is  the  custom  of  undertakers  in  several  South 
American  cities  to  have  photographs  taken  of  citizens 
who  have  been  killed  or  maimed  and  then  print  these 
beside  pictures  showing  the  corpse  in  the  coffln  after 
the  undertaker  has  had  a  chance  to  "doll  it  up,"  as  the 
vernacular  has  it.  A  sort  of  before-and-after  treatment 
touch  that  is  reminiscent  of  the  old-time  American  hair 
tonic  advertisements. 

But  it  is  not  only  in  the  case  of  advertisements  in- 
serted by  local  advertising  agents  that  bad  judgment 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  125 

occurs.  In  many  instances  American  business  houses 
have  sent  advertising  copy  to  South  American  news- 
papers that  was  more  ridiculous  than  anything  the 
South  Americans  could  have  concocted.  Such  a  case 
was  that  of  the  American  company  which  illustrated 
an  advertisement  for  tire  chains  in  Eio  with  a  picture 
of  a  severe  blizzard  in  which  the  snow  was  coming  down 
so  fast  that  motor-car  drivers  could  only  see  a  few  feet 
ahead  of  them,  while  a  traffic  "cop"  covered  with  heavy 
rubber  clothing  operated  a  device  in  the  middle  of  the 
street  \sith  "Stop"  on  one  side  and  "Go"  on  the  other. 

This  question  of  better  agency  service  for  American 
advertising  in  South  America  is  a  big  one,  and  no  truly 
satisfactory  condition  can  be  expected  to  exist  until 
such  agencies  are  established.  The  dependence  of  the 
present  agencies  on  their  connection  with  certain  publi- 
cations must  be  ended  if  they  are  to  be  of  any  real  value 
to  their  clients.  At  this  time  there  is  a  cooperative  ven- 
ture of  rather  wide  scope  being  launched  by  American 
advertising  agencies  for  the  Latin-American  field,  but 
whether  it  will  be  able  to  satisfactorily  cover  the  ground 
is  too  early  to  decide.  A  thorough  housecleaning  is  nec- 
essary in  the  South  American  ad>  ertising  business,  and 
it  is  probable  that  the  right  kind  of  American,  in  touch 
with  local  conditions  and  knowing  how  to  approach  the 
Latin  publisher  on  his  own  ground,  would  be  able  to 
make  the  publishers  realize  that  it  is  to  their  own  ad- 
vantage to  eliminate  present  unsatisfactory  practices. 

Until  American  agencies  are  established  in  South 
America  it  will  be  the  wisest  policy  for  American  adver- 
tisers to  depend  either  upon  firms  to  whom  they  sell 
goods  for  cooperation  in  the  placing  of  advertising  copy, 
or  to  utilize  the  much  more  satisfactory  expedient  of 
seeding  a  well  qualified  personal  representative. 


CHAPTEE  XIII 

Follow-up  letters  never  properly  utilized  in  South  America — ^Necessity 
of  using  registered  mail — Value  of  samples — Must  be  in  native  lan- 
guage— Imperative  requirement  of  proper  postage — Using  diflferent 
colored  stationery — Necessity  for  care  in  addresses — Fines  paid  by 
recipients — Benefits  of  eliminating  all  mailing  abbreviations. 

THE  follow-up  letter,  so  well  known  and  accepted 
as  a  necessity  in  the  United  States,  strangely 
enough  has  never  made  much  headway  in 
South  America.  The  reason  for  this  has  always  been 
obscure  to  me,  but  I  imagine  that  it  resulted  from  an 
absolute  failure  in  the  first  attempts  to  use  it  in  Latin 
markets.  The  unquestionable  fact  is  that,  properly 
used,  the  follow-up  letter  can  be  made  to  pull  splendidly. 
Latin-American  business  men  have  a  monumental  feel- 
ing of  indifference  toward  the  common  things  in  life  or 
in  business.  To  get  their  attention  something  new  and 
unusual  is  needed.  Ordinary  postage  is  at  the  disposal 
and  within  the  knowledge  of  the  lowliest  peon,  but  there 
are  other  forms  of  communication  that  are  distinctly 
not  in  that  class. 

A  follow-up  letter  accompanied  by  samples,  no  matter 
how  low  may  be  the  value  of  the  samples,  will  always 
receive  attention  in  a  South  American  business  estab- 
lishment if  sent  by  registered  mail  and  with  the  accom- 
paniment of  all  the  pomp  and  courtesy  which  it  is  pos- 
sible to  give  an  object  and  a  letter  received  through  the 
mails.  Such  letters  should  be  as  personal  as  possible 
and  as  verbose  as  the  human  mind  can  make  them. 

126 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  127 

Even  if  he  knows  the  merits  of  the  article  to  be  exag- 
gerated, a  South  American  merchant  will  discount  the 
letter  as  much  as  he  feels  proper,  but  if  the  value  of 
the  article  has  been  understated  the  South  American 
will  become  suspicious  of  what  is,  to  him,  such  strange 
behavior  and  will  instantly  add  a  little  further  deprecia- 
tion for  good  measure. 

Such  letters  and  samples  should  be  sent  not  later  than 
a  week  after  the  personal  visit  of  the  American  repre- 
sentative, and  it  is  not  too  often  to  continue  sending 
them  every  week.  Latins  like  attention.  Registered 
letters  do  not  cost  much,  if  any  business  is  realized  from 
them,  and  they  are  well  worth  the  trouble  of  sending. 
Furthermore,  South  American  post  offices  are  notori- 
ously lax.  Samples  sent  in  the  open  mail  are  as  likely 
as  not  to  be  stolen  before  reaching  their  destination, 
thus  irritating,  rather  than  pleasing,  the  firm  or  indi- 
vidual to  whom  they  were  consigned.  Follow-up  letters 
have  been  an  overlooked  chance  with  too  many  Ameri- 
can manufacturers  and  exporters;  they  deserve  careful 
attention  and  may  be  depended  upon  to  pay  excellent 
dividends. 

It  should  go  without  saying  that  all  such  letters  must 
be  written  in  Spanish  for  all  the  so-called  republics 
using  that  language,  and  in  Portuguese  for  Brazil.  The 
folly  of  writing  to  merchants  of  Latin-America  in  a 
language  they  cannot  understand  is  not  confined  to  the 
waste  of  paper,  time  and  postage  involved,  but  does 
great  damage  through  the  creation  of  a  feeling  in  the 
mind  of  the  South  American  merchant  that  he  has  been 
treated  discourteously.  It  is  a  discourtesy  to  write  to 
such  a  merchant  in  a  foreign  language  because,  in  many 
cases,  the  merchant  will  feel  that  the  letter  may  contain 


128  ADVEETISING  FOR  TRADE 

something  important  and  will  go  to  the  trouble  and  ex- 
pense of  having  it  translated,  only  to  discover  that  it  is 
a  form  letter  extolling  some  brand  of  goods  and  contain- 
ing no  personal  touch  of  any  sort.  Such  conduct  on  the 
part  of  any  American  firm  reacts  against  all  Americans 
and  creates  an  irritating  feeling  that  Americans  are 
lacking  in  observing  the  ordinary  amenities  of  business 
which  count  for  so  much  throughout  these  countries. 

Another  point  in  connection  with  mail  matter  is  the 
absolute  necessity  of  using  sufficient  postage.  Fines  for 
improperly  stamped  letters  are  much  heavier  in  South 
America  than  they  are  with  us,  and  they  are  a  never- 
ending  source  of  trouble  and  vexation.  There  is  scarcely 
anything  so  inexcusable  as  this,  yet  it  has  done  more  to 
cause  dissatisfaction  with  American  methods  of  doing 
business  than  almost  any  other  factor.  The  best  method 
of  guarding  against  this  matter  of  inadequate  postage 
is  to  use  stationery  of  a  different  color  for  foreign  let- 
ters than  that  used  in  the  conduct  of  domestic  business. 
The  young  clerks  who  are  generally  in  charge  of  letter- 
mailing  in  every  big  business  organization  are  not  of 
the  experience  or  type  to  be  likely  to  take  any  excessive 
amount  of  interest  in  the  question  of  the  condition  of  a 
letter  when  it  is  delivered  in  South  America  a  month 
after  it  leaves  the  United  States,  but  they  can  be  im- 
pressed with  the  idea  that  a  letter  printed  on  colored 
paper  means  extra  postage. 

Many  firms  have  adopted  the  colored  paper  and  en- 
velope idea  with  marked  success,  and  it  has  succeeded 
in  removing  for  them  one  of  the  bugbears  of  South 
American  business.  This,  of  course,  is  something  that 
applies  to  foreign  correspondence  everywhere.  It  is  as 
vital  in  Europe  and  in  the  Far  East  to  have  mail  prop- 


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S 

U 

ai^^-l 

3 

„  SiU-c 

z 

^ 

.2  to  § 

IN  LATIN-AMERICA  129 

erly  stamped  as  it  is  in  the  case  of  South  America.  Up 
to  this  time,  however,  the  big  banks  of  the  United  States 
are  practically  the  only  element  in  our  business  life  that 
has  given  this  subject  the  attention  its  importance  de- 
serves, and  they  have  placed  in  charge  of  foreign  letters 
clerks  of  mature  experience  who  can  be  depended  upon 
to  use  the  requisite  amount  of  care. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  worthwhile  to  repeat  an 
incident  which  came  to  my  personal  knowledge  in  Rio 
de  Janeiro  and  which  illustrates  most  of  the  points 
about  which  South  Americans  complain.  In  this  case 
a  large  wholesale  manufacturer  of  ready-made  clothing 
in  Baltimore  sent  a  letter,  typewritten  in  English  and 
with  a  two-cent  stamp  afflxed,  addressed  as  follows: 
"Senor ,  Buenos  Aires,  Brazil."  The  mer- 
chant whom  it  was  intended  to  reach  was  actually  lo- 
cated in  Rio,  but  the  letter  went  first  to  Buenos  Aires, 
then  traveled  around  for  several  weeks,  and  was  finally 
delivered  three  months  after  it  left  the  Baltimore  post 
office.  The  total  fines  which  had  by  that  time  accumu- 
lated, and  which  the  merchant  in  Rio  had  to  pay, 
amounted  to  |3.80.  He  paid  the  same,  •^received  the 
letter,  had  it  translated  into  Portuguese,  and  then  dis- 
covered that  it  was  a  formal,  technical  announcement 
of  a  spring  clearing  sale  by  the  manufacturer  in  ques- 
tion. 

The  English  used  in  this  letter  was  such  that  only  a 
person  actually  engaged  in  the  clothing  business  in  the 
United  States  could  understand,  and  it  was  utterly 
qjitside  the  capabilities  of  the  translator  in  Rio.  It 
stated  briefly  and  in  technical  language  that  the  firm 
had  on  hand  for  quick  clearing  "Sizes  34-36-38-40  men's 
light  spring  coats, pattern.    Terms,  25,  10  and  5 


130  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

off  for  cash.  Wire  orders  at  our  expense."  Now,  in  the 
first  place,  ready-made  clothing  is  not  sold  in  the  sizes 
used  in  the  United  States.  The  metric  system  is  used, 
and  clothing  made  for  sale  in  Latin  countries  must  be 
graduated  on  that  scale,  not  on  the  American  or  English 
method. 

Perhaps  the  crowning  glory  of  the  letter  which  I  have 
been  describing  was  the  return  postcard  enclosed,  with 
a  one-cent  American  postage  stamp  aflflxed  to  it !  Such 
experiences  would  require  merchants  with  the  patience 
of  Job  to  tolerate  them  without  losing  their  temper,  but 
South  America  would  be  poor  prospecting  ground  for 
modem  Jobs.  European  firms  watch  these  little  things 
and  avoid  giving  offense,  and  until  American  houses  are 
able  to  iron  out  these  irritating  incidents  there  will  be 
dissatisfaction  and  failure  to  receive  orders  that  might 
otherwise  be  had  easily. 

One  more  point  is  worth  attention.  Americans  have 
a  passion  for  abbreviations  in  their  domestic  corres- 
pondence, but  they  fail  to  remember  when  writing 
abroad  that  the  people  in  some  far-off  South  American 
country  are  not  as  familiar  with  the  minor  political  and 
geographical  divisions  of  the  United  States  as  we  are. 
I  was  calling  on  a  merchant  in  Antofagasta,  Chile,  one 
day,  and  in  the  course  of  our  talk  he  happened  to  men- 
tion that  his  brother  was  in  Chicago  ill.  I  expressed 
polite  regret  at  his  indisposition,  but  the  merchant  said 
I  had  misunderstood,  that  his  brother  was  in  perfect 
health,  but  that  he  was  visiting  in  Chicago  ill.  It  then 
dawned  upon  me  that  the  Chilean  thought  our  abbrevia- 
tion for  Illinois  was  part  of  the  city's  name,  a  natural 
belief  when  one  remembers  that  he  had  probably  never 
seen  the  name  of  the  state  spelled  out. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  131 

We  should  not  expect  the  average  American  to  re- 
member the  abbreviation  for  the  states  that  compose 
the  interior  of  Brazil,  but  that  would  be  just  as  logical 
as  to  expect  South  Americans  to  remember  our  many 
American  abbreviations.  The  best  way  is  to  write  out 
in  full  the  names  of  all  states  or  other  divisions,  thus 
eliminating  a  fruitful  source  of  delay  in  the  receipt  of 
mail  matter  from  South  America. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Big  field  waiting  in  women's  ready-to-wear  goods — ^Value  of  the  Euro- 
pean press  for  this  purpose — Success  in  introducing  new  styles — 
Branches  of  Paris  shops  in  South  America — Tariff  difficulties — Lack  of 
good  advertising  matter  for  silks,  lingerie,  etc.  • 

ONE  of  the  overlooked  opportunities  in  Latin- 
America,  as  far  as  advertising  is  concerned,  is 
in  the  field  of  ready-to-wear  clothes  for  both 
sexes — millinery,  toilet  articles,  corsets,  underwear, 
stockings,  socks,  men's  hats,  shirts,  collars,  neckties, 
and  general  haberdashery.  The  better  class  of  Latin- 
Americans  are  expensively  dressed  and  have  always 
looked  to  Europe  for  styles,  but  I  am  convinced  that  a 
high  grade,  intellectually  conducted  publicity  cam- 
paign, designed  to  reach  such  people,  would  be  produc- 
tive of  results. 

The  women  could  readily  be  approached  through  the 
European  papers  more  fully  discussed  in  another 
chapter,  aided  by  the  local  illustrated  weekly  and 
monthly  publications  which  go  into  the  better  homes. 
Latin-American  women  are  wonderfully  quick  to  ap- 
preciate and  adopt  any  innovation,  and  such  modern 
necessities  as  anti-perspiration  remedies,  depilatories, 
cosmetics,  face  creams  and  dress-shields  would  find 
eager  and  appreciative  buyers,  provided  the  appeal  was 
of  the  proper  nature. 

Woman  is  defined  by  an  ancient  writer  as  an  "animal 
that  delights  in  finery,"  due  to  her  predilection  for  using 
flowers,  feathers,  precious  stones,  and  birds  for  personal 

132 


ADVEKTISING  FOR  TRADE  133 

adornment.  One  would  think  that  the  higher  civiliza- 
tion of  the  present  day  would  have  a  tendency  to  make 
them  give  up  such  ornaments  of  savage  origin.  But 
fashion  is  a  tyrant  that  all  women  obey.  Fashion  rules 
the  world  and  waves  her  scepter  arbitrarily.  Her  do- 
main extends  from  the  most  humble  and  inaccessible 
spot  where  primitive  man  may  reside  to  the  broad  ave- 
nues and  boulevards  of  the  world's  capitals. 

Ko  part  of  the  body  has  been  more  exposed  to  the 
vagaries  or  idiosyncrasies  of  fashion  than  the  head,  not 
only  in  the  natural  arrangement  of  the  hair,  but  in 
artificial  coverings. 

Although  custom,  environment  and  climate  have  de- 
creed that  certain  rules  be  observed,  religion  has  for 
ages  had  the  greatest  influence  on  woman's  head-dress, 
as  well  as  man's.  The  head  covering  of  the  Parsee,  Jew, 
Mohammedan,  Hindu,  Buddhist  and  other  denomina- 
tions has  been  ordained  by  religion.  In  the  same  way, 
the  head  covering  worn  by  the  women  of  Latin- America 
has  been  controlled  by  the  dictates  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  The  idea  of  covering  the  head  is  purely  relig- 
ious in  origin  and  perhaps  was  adopted  by  the  Catholic 
Church  in  contradistinction  to  the  Oriental  custom  of 
removing  the  sandals  or  shoes  when  entering  the  temple 
so  as  not  to  defile  it  with  the  dirt  from  the  street. 

The  advent  of  the  women  of  America,  England,  Ger- 
many, and  France  into  Latin-America  has  materially 
affected  the  customs  of  the  natives,  and  to-day  the  ten- 
dency is  to  adopt  styles  from  these  countries.  As  late  as 
ten  years  ago  one  never  saw  millinery  shops  in  these 
lands.  An  occasional  one  might  be  found  in  the  capitals 
of  some  of  the  larger  countries.  The  foreigner  always 
sent  home  for  her  hats.    The  advent  of  these  thousands 


134  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

of  newcomers  with  modern  ideas,  the  frequent  visits  of 
wealthy  families  to  Europe  and  the  United  States,  the 
widening  of  streets  into  beautiful  boulevards  for  walk- 
ing, the  coming  of  the  automobile,  and  the  gradual 
letting  down  of  the  barriers  around  these  almost  clois- 
tered women  of  Latin- America  have  all  played  their  part 
in  developing  a  desire  to  dress  like  her  sisters  of  other 
lands. 

The  Spanish-American  War  had  much  to  do  with  the 
introduction  of  hats  for  women  into  Latin-America. 
Following  the  American  troops  in  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico 
came  the  civil  oflflcials  and  their  families.  The  native 
ladies  of  these  islands  were  quick  to  discern  that  mod- 
ern hats  added  to  the  attractiveness  of  their  sex  and 
forthwith  adopted  "Yankee"  millinery,  a  contagion 
which  spread  rapidly  to  the  neighboring  countries.  In 
the  capitals  of  Argentina,  Brazil  and  Chile  a  similar 
movement  was  started,  owing  to  the  presence  of  many 
European  women.  Strange  to  say,  however,  in  Mexico, 
despite  its  nearness  to  this  country,  the  development 
along  this  line  has  been  decidedly  slower. 

Buenos  Aires  has  taken  the  initiative.  Many  of  the 
leading  houses  of  the  Rue  de  la  Paix  have  branches  in 
this  city.  At  the  opera  and  the  races,  wherever  society 
gathers,  are  to  be  seen  the  dernier  cri  in  all  that  adds 
to  the  outward  adornment  of  woman.  The  desire  of 
the  up-to-date  woman  to  wear  a  French  creation  is  as 
great  here  as  in  the  United  States,  and  the  French  label 
on  a  hat  or  gown  is  accepted  as  par  excellence. 

Time  effects  many  changes.  To-day  the  French  and 
English  are  allies,  yet  their  hatred  for  one  another  was 
so  intense  in  1702  that  death  was  the  punishment  meted 
out  to  any  English  milliner  who  dared  to  use  a  French 


IN  LATIN-A^IERICA  135 

label  in  milady's  hat.  It  might  be  interesting  to  add 
here  that  the  custom  of  wearing  feathers  exclusively  on 
the  left  side  of  a  hat  originated  in  the  days  of  the  cav- 
aliers, when  they  were  so  worn  in  order  to  give  the 
right  hand  free  play  in  drawing  the  sword. 

The  time  for  the  gradual  elimination  of  the  mantua 
and  mantilla  has  come,  especially  in  Havana,  San  Juan, 
Caracas,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Buenos  Aires,  Montevideo, 
Santiago,  Valparaiso,  Lima  and  Panama. 

In  view  of  these  conditions  and  the  desire  of  the  Latin- 
American  lady  to  copy  our  styles,  it  would  seem  an  ap- 
propriate time  for  American  milliners  and  dressmakers 
to  enter  this  field.  I  am  certain  that  the  possibilities 
are  excellent  and  that  the  future  is  bright.  All  of  the 
large  cities  offer  good  prospects. 

These  observations,  however,  do  not  apply  to  foot- 
wear to  anything  like  the  extent  that  they  concern  other 
articles  of  wearing  apparel.  For  many  years  American 
shoe  manufacturers  have  failed  to  grasp  the  full  pos- 
sibilities of  the  South  American  market  for  boots  and 
shoes  because  they  tried  to  sell  the  Latin- Americans  the 
same  styles  current  at  the  time  in  the  United  States. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  European  shoe  is  always  more 
extreme  in  design  and  cut  than  the  comfortable,  sens- 
ible American  models.  American  salesmen  have  appar- 
ently thought  that  the  approval  of  American  shoe-buy- 
ers ought  to  be  sufficient  recommendation  for  their 
goods  in  South  America,  the  inevitable  result  being  that 
Europe  got  most  of  the  orders. 

In  some  countries,  Venezuela  in  particular,  tariff 
charges  on  ready-made  clothing  are  almost  prohibitive, 
but  in  most  of  the  other  countries  this  difficulty  is  not 
insurmountable.    The  number  of  people  who  would  buy 


136  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

ready-made  American  clothes  is  limited,  of  course,  but 
they  are  of  sufficient  financial  means  so  that  the  addition 
of  the  tariff  would  not  preclude  the  selling  of  the  goods. 
The  advertising  of  ready-made  clothing  has  reached  a 
high  plane  in  the  United  States,  and  it  is  one  of  the 
lines  of  advertising  that  would  require  very  little  chang- 
ing for  adoption  to  the  Latin- American  market,  chiefly 
for  the  reason  that  so  much  dependence  is  placed  on  the 
pictorial  end  of  the  problem. 

The  high  class  drawings  used  by  Hart,  Schaffner  & 
Marx,  Community  Clothes,  Society  Brand  Clothes,  Ar- 
row and  Lion  collars.  Stetson,  Young  and  Knox  hats, 
with  very  little  alteration  could  be  widely  used  through- 
out South  America,  and  there  are,  in  fact,  many  evi- 
dences that  this  line  of  art  work  in  advertising  is  begin- 
ning to  be  appreciated  by  South  American  merchants. 

High  grade  silk  lingerie  and  corsets  afford  an  almost 
unlimited  field  in  South  America.  The  better  class 
women  throughout  the  continent  are  able  and  anxious 
to  wear  the  best  that  money  can  buy  in  the  way  of  under- 
things,  but  there  is  no  advertising  now  used  in  South 
America  that  can  be  compared  to  the  copy  used  for 
Vanity  Fair,  Van  Raalte,  Kayser,  Migel,  Mallinson, 
Skinner  and  other  silks.  The  higher  class  women 
throughout  South  America  wear  French  corsets,  and 
pay  considerably  more  for  them  than  the  up-to-date 
American  woman.  There  is  little  sale  of  a  moder- 
ately priced,  good  style  corset  for  the  woman  of  limited 
spending  ability.  Here  again  is  a  fertile  field  for  the 
use  of  modern  advertising  drawings. 

The  average  South  American  man  with  money  to 
invest  is  much  quicker  to  spend  it  on  his  own  personal 
adornment  than  an  American  would  ever  think  of  doing. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  137 

Men  use  perfumes  to  practically  the  same  extent  as 
women  in  all  the  Latin  republics,  and  fancy  shaving 
and  face  creams  have  a  large  sale.  The  French  have 
always  held  the  best  business  of  this  sort,  but  there  is 
no  doubt  that  an  intelligently  conducted  campaign  by 
an  American  firm,  backed  up  with  the  right  kind  of 
advertising  and  with  an  understanding  of  the  Latin 
psychology,  especially  among  the  men,  would  pay  well. 


CHAPTER  XV 

Papers  printed  in  English  in  South  America — Generally  follow  Brit- 
ish style — Description  of  a  typical  issue — Still  fighting  the  Germans — 
Commercial  publications  in  English — Popularity  of  the  illustrated 
Weekly — Means  of  reaching  the  best  families — Comparative  unimpor- 
tance of  trade  papers,  except  for  doctors — South  America  a  patent  medi- 
cine stronghold — The  religious  press — Lack  of  a  middle  class. 

THERE  remains  to  be  discussed  a  type  of  paper 
published  in  South  America  that,  while  few 
in  number,  is  most  important  to  advertisers 
whose  goods  are  likely  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
English-speaking  residents  of  Latin-America.  A  great 
many  American  and  English  people  who  live  in  South 
America  never  look  at  a  publication  printed  in  Spanish 
or  Portuguese,  depending  entirely  for  their  news  upon 
the  weeklies  printed  in  English  in  Rio  and  Buenos  Aires. 
It  may  prove  interesting  to  analyze  two  of  these  publi- 
cations as  to  news  treatment  and  advertising  policy  for 
the  light  it  will  throw  on  general  selling  and  living  con- 
ditions in  South  America. 

For  instance,  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  is  published  the 
"Times  of  Brazil,"  a  weekly  paper  of  twenty  pages,  half 
the  ordinary  American  size  and  containing  a  section 
devoted  to  the  news  of  Sao  Paulo,  the  industrial  center 
of  Brazil.  Although  carrying  many  American  adver- 
tisements and  devoting  a  generous  portion  of  its  news 
columns  to  American  data,  the  publication  is  typically 
British  and  follows  the  style  make-up  and  general  tenor 
so  familiar  in  British  publications. 

Taking  at  random  the  issue  for  March  20,  1920,  we 

138 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  139 

find  a  column  of  cable  news,  greatly  condensed,  on  page 
one.  This  consists  of  short  three-  or  four-line  items, 
among  which  may  be  noted  the  fact  that  "President 
Carranza  may  make  a  long  tour  through  South  America 
after  his  term  of  office  expires."  This  will  be  interpreted 
by  good  South  Americans  as  a  tribute  to  their  beloved 
land  as  equivalent  to  Heaven,  while  others  will  prob- 
ably agree  just  as  readily  that  it  is  an  entirely  different 
sort  of  a  place  and  was  picked  out  for  Carranza's  pro- 
posed itinerary  for  that  very  reason. 

A  leading  article  discusses  the  work  of  Americans  in 
Brazil,  particularly  in  so  far  as  the  meat-packing  indus- 
try is  concerned.  This  is  a  genuinely  informative  ar- 
ticle. It  gives  outside  readers  an  excellent  idea  of  the 
tremendous  growth  of  the  packing  industry  since  the  big 
American  packers  entered  the  South  American  field,  and 
also  gives  a  picture  of  the  huge  growth  still  in  store  for 
the  industry.  The  other  feature  story  is  a  review  of 
the  annual  St.  Patrick's  day  entertainment  held  by 
prominent  Irish  residents  of  Rio.  This  is  typical  of  the 
Irish,  so  far  as  the  celebration  and  the  speeches  are 
concerned,  and  typical  of  the  British,  so  far  as  the 
methods  of  reporting  and  the  newspaper  English  are 
concerned.  The  following  paragraph  will  give  an  idea 
of  the  style  of  writing  that  permeates  the  whole  paper, 
making  it  sound  exactly  as  would  a  similar  clipping 
from  the  "London  Times"  or  "Morning  Post": 

The  chairman  said  he  had  been  reluctant  to  accept  the  charge 
of  presiding  at  that  dinner  for  several  reasons.  One  was  that 
he  lacked  the  eloquence  for  which  Irishmen  were  all  noted.  Also 
he  could  not  claim  the  distinction  of  having  been  bom  in  the 
Emerald  Isle.  He  had  been  born  in  New  York,  but  inasmuch 
as  the  Irish  population  of  New  York  was  greater  than  any  town 


140  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

in  Ireland,  he  hoped  he  wonld  get  by  with  that.  People  outside 
New  York  said  that  every  policeman  in  New  York  was  an  Irish- 
man. He  did  not  know  whether  that  was  so  or  not,  but  the 
number  of  Irish-American  teachers  in  the  schools  there  was 
five  times  as  many  as  the  number  of  police,  so  that  Irishmen  in 
New  York  were  known  as  teachers  as  well  as  policemen.  They 
might  recall  the  story  of  the  son  of  Sunny  Italy  who  told  his 
Irish-American  teacher  that  he  wished  to  be  real  American 
and  have  a  real  American  name,  and  when  asked  to  give  the 
name  of  his  choice  replied,  "Patriotick  Denis  O'Brien." 
(Laughter.) 

Further  on  we  find  the  usual  hodgepodge  of  stuff — a 
review  of  post-war  developments  in  British  commerce 
and  industry;  a  London  letter  commenting  at  great 
length  on  Asquith's  chances  for  reelection  to  parlia- 
ment, succeeded  by  two  lines  of  postscript  saying  that 
he  has  been  elected;  a  letter  on  general  conditions  in 
London;  a  long  article  on  German  trade  methods;  an 
article  on  British  banking  development  and  the  ten- 
dency toward  amalgamation;  a  long-winded  screed, 
part  IV,  on  "The  Birth  of  Man"  by  one  John  T.  Jones; 
an  article  on  British  sport  in  Sao  Paulo  and  an 
excoriation  of  German  trading  methods  in  South  Amer- 
ica; a  long  and  patriotic  description  of  the  case  of  Mr. 
William  Fowles,  who  appears  to  have  been  having 
some  extended  litigation,  finally  decided  in  his  favor, 
with  the  municipality  of  Sao  Paulo;  a  miscellaneous 
assortment  of  personal  items  in  which  Sir  John  This 
and  Sir  Harry  That  appear  to  have  very  much  the  best 
of  it,  and  minor  filling  matter  not  worth  mentioning. 
Among  other  small  items,  the  following  is  of  interest  as 
indicating  that  the  war-time  agitation  against  Germany 
and  against  German  goods  is  going  to  be  kept  up  by  the 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  141 

British  just  as  long  as  they  can  find  fuel  to  throw  on 
the  fire.  It  appears  that  a  German  paper  in  Rio  has 
been  engaging  employes  with  Anglo-Saxon  names,  and 
the  ire  of  the  editor  of  the  "Times  of  Brazil"  has  been 
aroused  to  the  following  extent: 

AID  FOE  HUN  PRESS 

ANOTHER  FUNNY   NAME 

The  "Deutsche  Zeitung"  continues  to  score.  The  latest  of  its 
Supporters  with  Angjo-Saxon  names  is  Mr.  Robert  Cooper 
Stegall. 

We  do  not  presume  to  Enow  Mr.  Robert  Cooper  StegaU's  na- 
tionahty.  We  have  heard  he  was  associated  with  a  British  firm 
in  Rio  during  the  war  and  that  he  wa&  regarded  as  being  either 
British  or  American.  The  name  Robert  is  certainly  English, 
and  Cooper  has  nothing  Teutonic  about  it.  As  for  Stegall,  we 
are  at  a  loss.    It  might  be  an3rthing. 

Nevertheless,  basing  our  argument  on  Mr.  Robert  Cooper 
Stegall's  associations  during  the  war,  on  his  Anglo-Saxon  Chris- 
tian names,  and  on  the  fact  that  he  appears  to  be  advertising 
American  products,  we  feel  that  he  is  another  melancholy  addi- 
tion to  those  who  are  paying  for  anti-British  propaganda  in 
Sao  Paulo. 

While  on  this  subject  of  subsidizing  a  Hun  propaganda  news- 
paper we  wish  to  make  it  quite  clear  that  we  do  not  deny  the 
moral  right  of  any  neutral  or  German  sympathizer  to  support 
such  a  sheet.  Our  only  objection  is  to  the  English-speaking  col- 
ony contributing  to  the  upkeep  of  a  newspaper  which  has  no 
standing  as  such  and  which  is  merely  a  German  organ  with  a 
policy  of  hostility  towards  our  race,  our  commerce,  and  our  posi- 
tion as  the  world's  leading  people.  The  English-speaking  race 
is  the  greatest  factor  in  world  progress  to-day;  and  it  is  this, 
above  all,  that  arouses  the  jealous  hatred  of  the  Hun.  Let  us 
see  to  it,  therefore,  that  we  do  not  provide  the  enemy  with  muni- 


142  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

tions  of  war.  We  trust  Mr,  Robert  Cooper  Stegall  will  accept 
this  as  an  invitation  to  state  exactly  on  which  side  of  the  fence 
he  stands. 

Now  as  to  the  advertisements.  Across  the  bottom  on 
the  first  page  runs  a  five-column  advertisement  of  a 
coaling  company  at  Rio;  a  small  "ad"  of  the  Royal 
Bank  of  Canada  offering  to  pay  4  per  cent,  interest  on 
deposit  accounts;  an  offer  to  rent  a  furnished  house  in 
the  city's  high-class  residence  section ;  an  advertisement 
of  a  brand  of  cigars,  and  the  card  of  a  shipping  company. 
On  the  third  page  we  find  two  quarter-page  "ads,"  those 
of  the  London  and  Brazilian  Bank,  Ltd.,  and  the  British 
Bank  of  South  America,  Ltd.;  in  addition,  the  Anglo- 
American  restaurant  announces,  in  type  so  old-fash- 
ioned that  Guttenberg  must  have  practised  on  it,  that 
it  will  serve  meals  in  American  and  English  style.  Then 
follows  a  page  containing  four  "ads" — a  local  agent  for 
Ford  Motor  cars,  an  agent  for  English  agricultural  ma- 
chinery, a  firm  of  commission  merchants  with  many 
European  connections,  and  the  "ad"  of  a  tire  company, 
only  here  it  is  spelled  "tyre."  Further  on  we  find  the 
inevitable  fisherman  with  a  codfish  on  his  back,  assur- 
ing the  world  that  Scott's  Emulsion  has  guarded  its 
health  for  fifty  years;  an  announcement  by  the  Rotis- 
serie  Sportsman  that  it  has  the  only  bar  in  Rio  where 
real  American  cocktails  can  be  secured ;  an  "ad"  of  the 
Armour  Packing  Company's  Brazilian  subsidiary,  and 
a  card  from  a  local  flour  manufacturer. 

Still  further  on  appears  a  miscellaneous  assortment 
of  advertising,  with  space  from  quarter-page  down  to 
small  one-column  cards.  The  advertisement  of  the 
Ford  Motor  Company  contains  the  advice,  "Let  there 
be  no  discords,"  printed  under  the  magic  name  of  the 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  143 

"peace  ship"  pilot.  Advertisements  of  the  Hudson, 
Essex  and  Briscoe  cars  are  followed  by  the  advertise- 
ment of  a  Sao  Paulo  liquor-dealer  that  makes  sad  read- 
ing for  Americans.  He  announces,  "You  cannot  get 
Gordon  gin  on  Broadway,  but  you  can  here,  so  all  is 
well."  This  is  followed  by  the  "latest  ditty  from  Broad- 
way, to  be  hummed  when  fox-trotting" ; 

Sahara,  we  sympathize  with  you, 

Sahara,  now  we've  gone  dry  too, 
Thaf  s  why  Cleopatra  put  that  snake  next  to  her  skin. 
She  lost  her  mind  completely  when  she  lost  her  Gordon  gin. 

The  card  of  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works  appears, 
as  do  the  advertisements  of  two  department  stores,  writ- 
ten in  the  style  current  in  America  in  1880,  with  abso- 
lutely nothing  in  them  apparently  calculated  to  create 
a  will  to  purchase.  The  rest  of  the  paper  is  filled  with 
advertisements  of  insurance  and  assurance  companies, 
as  life  insurance  is  called  assurance  in  England  and  in 
South  America;  American  typewriters;  American  and 
Scotch  whiskey ;  various  brands  of  olive  oil ;  steamship 
company  announcements;  the  cards  of  several  English 
doctors  and  dentists ;  an  advertisement  of  Mellin's  food ; 
those  of  several  small  exporting  houses,  and  a  scatter- 
ing assortment  of  various  other  small  advertisements. 

All  of  the  above  is  worth  noting  because  it  illustrates 
the  primitive  form  in  which  English  readers  get  their 
local  news,  even  in  such  a  rich  and  important  center  as 
Eio  de  Janeiro.  Typography  is  far  behind  the  best 
modem  practice,  the  type  old  and  worn,  arrangement 
poor,  and  the  knowledge  of  ad-writing  seeming  not  yet 
to  have  made  any  progress  with  those  in  charge  of  this 
publication.    It  is  in  such  an  atmosphere  that  advertise- 


144  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

ments  inserted  by  Americans  must  be  printed,  and  it 
would  appear  as  if  the  field  were  ripe  for  some  aggres- 
sive work  that  would  win  through  sheer  merit  of  adver- 
tising and  merchandising. 

In  Buenos  Aires  there  is  a  publication  in  English,  the 
"Review  of  the  River  Plate,"  that  is  a  much  older  and 
better  established  publication  than  any  other  of  its  kind 
on  the  entire  continent.  The  only  drawback  for  general 
advertisers  is  that  this  paper  makes  such  a  specialty  of 
commercial  news  that  there  is  little  room  for  general 
news  of  a  more  gossipy  character,  such  as  strangers  in  a 
foreign  land  like  to  read  about  their  own  countrymen. 
This  paper  was  established  in  1891  and  has  made  an 
enviable  reputation  for  itself.  It  is  intensely  British 
in  character,  but  much  fairer  than  the  average  British 
publication.  It  is  published  in  magazine  form  on  good 
paper,  gives  all  the  important  news  not  only  of  Argen- 
tina, but  of  Uruguay,  Paraguay  and  Chile  as  well,  and 
maintains  offices  in  New  York  and  London.  Its  adver- 
tising is  well  set  up,  attractive  to  the  eye  and  covers  a 
wide  range,  impressing  one  as  a  sort  of  composite  for 
South  America  of  the  "Commercial  and  Financial 
Chronicle"  and  the  "Manufacturers'  Record." 

In  addition  to  thoroughly  dependable  business  news 
and  statistical  records  of  all  South  American  countries, 
the  paper  keeps  a  careful  watch  on  industrial  and  com- 
mercial developments,  and  its  pages  reflect  in  an  accur- 
ate manner  the  progress  of  South  America.  An  exam- 
ination of  the  advertising  pages  of  the  "Review  of  the 
River  Plate"  will  convince  any  doubter  that  American 
business  and  American  advertising  are  making  much 
faster  progress  in  Argentina  than  elsewhere  on  the  con- 


J.   FFRNANDEZ   HURTADO 

AGENTE    OE  LAS    SIGUIENTeS    FIRMAS! 

SOUTER^f  RICE    SALES   Co.  New  York.    Arroz 
arnericmo  fino. 
W.  R     GRACE  &  Co.    San  Francisco.    Arroces 

fiaiftticoB 
GEO  P.  PLANT  MILLING  C"  Saiat    Louis.  Hari- 

nas  <ie  triso   insuperables. 
THE    CANFIELD    OIL  C°  Cleveland.  Aceites  y 

erasis  liihric.im'ea. 
THE  TOWER  VARNISH  &  DYER  Co.  Pinturaa  & 
.  Barnicos 
THE  EUROPEAN  &  FARE,\STERNC?  E.Kporta- 

cioa  de  m'^rcaaciaa  generalea. 


Moestras.  precios  y  condiciones 


APARTADO  DE  CORREOS  H"  78 
Telefono    498 


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TIPOGRAFIA  'GERMIHAL' 

BE  aAOINT©  A.  EeUI 

Se  ofrece  al  comercio  y  al  pubico  en  general  para  la  eje- 
cucion  de  toda  clase  de   trabajos  tipograficos. 

Especialidad  en  circulares  imitacion  de  cartas  escritas  a 
maquina,  impresas  en  tinta  de  copiar. 

La  presente  revista,  editada  .en  nuestros  talleres,  es  la  me- 
jor  demostracion  de  los  trabajos  que  podemos  hacer. 


PRECIOS  RACIONALES 


LA  GUAIRA-CALLE  DE  LOS   GRANADOS  No.  4. 


This  is  intended  to  show  the  inartistic  and  slipshod  make-up  methods  used 
in  Latin-American  papers.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  all  Latin-American  malce-up 
men  lack  the  artistic  sense  so  common  in  this  country  among  printers. 


A  page  of  wasted  advertising.  This  copy  appeared  in  "La  Prensa,"  of 
Buenos  Aires — the  most  expensive  advertising  medium  in  South  America — and 
cost,  perhaps,  $500.  No  reference  is  made  to  the  article  being  advertised,  but 
the  copy  deals  in  detail  with  the  story  of  the  cat  that  turned  into  a  woman. 
The  advertisement  is  for  a  cigarette. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  145 

tinent  and  that  American  products  are  being  more  in- 
telligently pushed  here  than  elsewhere. 

All  through  South  America  an  important  position  is 
held  by  a  type  of  weekly  publication  with  which  no 
exact  comparison  can  be  made  to  anything  similar  in 
the  United  States.  These  are  usually  illustrated  and 
sell  for  ten  cents  a  copy,  containing  pictures,  articles 
on  literature,  light  fiction,  articles  intended  especially 
for  women,  a  small  quantity  of  cable  news  gathered  from 
the  daily  papers,  and  a  general  assortment  of  miscellany 
gathered  from  unknown  sources.  These  weeklies  have 
large  circulation  in  the  cities,  and  while  they  are  not 
much  seen  in  the  country  districts,  they  cover  very 
completely  the  urban  centers  where  the  real  buying 
power  exists. 

South  American  newspapers  are  peculiar  in  that  they 
seem  to  be  exclusively  edited  for  men.  Outside  of  a 
few  papers  on  the  entire  continent,  no  such  thing  as  a 
society  column  as  we  know  it  exists  and  little  attention 
is  given  to  the  myriad  subjects  inserted  in  American 
papers  to  attract  the  feminine  eye.  This  peculiarity  has 
been  a  great  advantage  to  the  illustrated  weeklies,  and  a 
large  part  of  their  circulation  is  due  to  their  popularity 
among  women.  At  the  same  time,  women  unquestion- 
ably exert  almost  as  strong  an  influence  in  South  Amer- 
ica as  in  the  United  States  when  it  comes  to  buying 
clothing,  household  articles  and,  in  fact,  any  product 
likely  to  be  advertised  by  American  firms.  For  this 
reason  the  weekly  review  will  repay  careful  attention 
from  Americans. 

The  high  price  of  coated  paper,  coupled  with  the  gen- 
eral inefficiency  of  printers  and  the  lack  of  up-to-date 
printing  machinery  throughout  South  America,  pre- 


146  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

vents  these  weeklies  from  being  as  typographically  at- 
tractive as  they  would  be  if  published  in  the  United 
States.  The  covers  are  usually  in  colors,  but  the  inside 
sheets  are  printed  on  news-print,  giving  one  the  im- 
pression of  a  building  whose  front  is  built  of  marble 
and  whose  back  is  held  up  with  logs.  This  criticism 
does  not  hold  good,  however,  with  a  few  leading  papers, 
some  of  which  appear  only  monthly  and  command  prices 
as  high  as  a  dollar  per  issue.  These  last-mentioned 
papers  or  magazines  are  never  thrown  away,  but  are 
carefully  handled  and  read  and  re-read.  In  every  up- 
per-class home  in  South  America  the  visitor  is  apt  to 
find  a  neat  pile  of  these  magazines  dating  back  over 
a  series  of  years,  their  good  condition  testifying  to  the 
care  with  which  they  have  been  read. 

Two  periodicals  coming  within  the  last  mentioned 
description  are  published  in  Buenos  Aires  and  one  in 
Rio  de  Janeiro.  Their  high  subscription  price  keeps 
them  within  a  limited  circulation,  but  as  they  have  the 
readers  who  have  most  money  to  spend,  the  advertiser 
should  give  special  attention  to  them.  These  monthlies 
are  printed  on  high-grade  paper  and  compare  favorably 
with  periodicals  in  this  country  that  would  be  classed 
with  "Vanity  Fair,"  "Vogue,"  and  "Harper's  Bazar." 

A  recognition  of  the  field  reached  by  periodicals  of 
this  class  is  found  in  the  Spanish  edition  of  the  well- 
known  American  publication,  "Vogue."  This  publica- 
tion is  almost  identical  with  the  American  edition  of 
the  same  periodical  and  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  what 
sort  of  high-grade  magazine  will  appeal  to  the  best 
classes  in  Latin-America.  While  the  class  who  read 
this  publication  is  small  in  number,  its  purchasing  power 
and  its  desire  for  the  best  things  in  the  way  of  com- 


IN  LATIN- AMERICA  147 

forts  and  luxuries  is  probably  not  surpassed  by  any  simi- 
lar group  in  the  world. 

An  examination  of  the  Spanish  edition  of  "Vogue" 
will  give  an  idea  of  the  merchandising  trends  in  South 
America  and  will  also  be  valuable  as  showing  the  dif- 
ference in  the  seasons  on  the  continent.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  summer  in  Brazil  and  Argentina 
means  mid-winter  in  the  United  States,  and  thus  ar- 
ticles of  a  seasonal  character  must  be  advertised  at 
seasons  just  the  reverse  of  America  or  Europe.  South 
American  women  are  slaves  to  style  even  more  than 
their  sisters  in  the  United  States,  and  authoritative  in- 
formation on  this  important  and  ever-changing  subject 
is  certain  to  receive  the  most  careful  and  earnest  atten- 
tion. Consequently,  "Vogue"  and  the  high-class  publi- 
cations already  mentioned  as  printed  in  Buenos  Aires 
and  Kio  receive  careful  reading  and  re-reading  that 
would  be  thought  unusual  in  this  country,  where  such 
a  flood  of  publications  makes  it  difficult  for  readers  to 
more  than  skim  through  any  of  them. 

The  professional  and  trade  papers  of  Latin-America 
occupy  a  field  much  smaller  than  the  trade  papers  in  the 
United  States,  but  by  their  close  attention  to  certain 
restricted  areas  they  offer  to  advertisers  in  a  position 
to  make  a  careful  study  of  the  market  an  exceptional 
opportunity  in  their  respective  lines.  All  through 
Latin-America  the  medical  profession  will  be  found  to 
have  its  own  publication,  some  countries  having  two 
or  more  medical  journals.  Owing  to  the  relatively  high 
standing  of  the  medical  profession  in  Latin- America,  as 
well  as  elsewhere,  these  publications  are  forced  to  main- 
tain a  degree  of  respectability  and  typographical  excel- 


148  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

lence  that  would  not  be  demanded  from  a  similar  paper 
in  another  profession  or  trade. 

Taking  the  medical  press  first,  because,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  religious  weeklies,  it  constitutes  the 
main  body  of  such  publications  throughout  the  conti- 
nent, we  find  it  an  exceptional  medium  for  reaching  a 
class  on  whom  the  majority  of  daily  newspaper  circu- 
lation would  be  wasted.  While  many  members  of  the 
medical  profession  in  Latin-America  would  not  be  dig- 
nified by  inclusion  in  that  calling  in  Europe  or  the 
United  States,  there  is  a  constantly  growing  body  of 
high-class  medical  men,  small  in  number  but  large  in 
influence,  who  are  steadily  raising  the  position  of  medi- 
cine in  their  various  countries  and  who  are  securing  the 
gradual  adoption  of  higher  standards  of  medical  edu- 
cation and  of  public  and  private  sanitation  everywhere. 

Advertising  particularly  directed  to  physicians  and 
dentists  will  reach  the  desired  persons  almost  to  the 
extent  of  one  hundred  per  cent.,  if  the  better  medical 
papers  are  used.  There  is  a  large  field  in  Latin- America 
for  surgical  devices  and  drugs  formerly  purchased  in 
Europe.  Short  supplies  in  Europe  during  the  war  and 
the  consequent  high  prices,  which  as  yet  have  shown 
little  evidence  of  deflation,  have  caused  many  of  the 
medical  and  surgical  supply-houses  to  turn  to  the  United 
States.  This  demand  is  one  which  is  hard  to  change 
after  it  has  once  become  established,  and  in  Latin- 
America  the  wholesale  drug  houses,  manufacturers  of 
surgical  devices  and  rubber  goods,  and  the  makers  of 
patent  medicine  will  find  a  field  well  worth  a  far  great- 
er degree  of  cultivation  than  they  have  so  far  given  it. 

It  is  well  to  repeat  here  that  the  Latin  mind  views 
many  questions  in  a  manner  radically  different  from 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  149 

the  Anglo-Saxon.  With  all  his  faults,  the  Latin  is  less 
of  a  hypocrite  in  many  ways  than  the  people  of  the 
United  States.  In  medical  advertising  in  this  country 
many  outrageous  fakes  were  formerly  advertised  which 
possessed  not  the  slightest  claim  to  intrinsic  merit.  In 
well-meant  attempts  to  eradicate  this  evil  from  publi- 
cations issued  in  the  United  States,  laws  were  passed 
that  not  only  accomplished  the  desired  result,  but  drove 
from  the  pages  of  newspapers  and  magazines  of  general 
circulation  many  concerns  who  were  perfectly  legiti- 
mate and  who  really  deserved  a  wider  audience  than 
they  are  now  able  to  secure  in  the  limited  professional 
press  of  the  country. 

In  Latin- America  no  such  restrictions  have  ever  been 
heard  of.  It  is  legal  and  perfectly  possible  to  adver- 
tise almost  anything  under  the  sun  in  the  medical  or 
appliance  line.  Not  only  that,  but  the  most  explicit  and 
plain  instructions  and  directions  may  be  printed  also. 
This  condition  has,  of  course,  opened  the  door  for  many 
advertisements  that  even  the  most  liberal-minded  medi- 
cal man  in  the  United  States  would  consider  in  bad 
taste,  but  it  is  always  well  to  remember  that  we  are 
not  talking  about  the  United  States  and  that  if  we 
want  to  sell  goods  in  other  countries  we  must  adapt  our 
plans  and  methods  to  those  in  vogue  elsewhere. 

Patent  medicines  hold  a  very  large  place  in  Latin- 
American  life.  It  is  perfectly  ethical  to  advertise  them 
both  in  the  daily  press  and  in  the  medical  journals. 
For  the  better  class  of  goods  the  best  way  is  to  restrict 
the  appropriation,  unless  it  is  a  very  large  one,  to  the 
medical  journals,  and  then  furnish  the  physicians  of 
the  country  with  a  liberal  supply  of  samples.  Samples 
work  a  form  of  magic  in  Latin-America  that  I  have 


150  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

never  been  able  to  observe  anywhere  else  in  my  travels 
all  over  the  world.  Even  the  man  in  high  place  in  Latin- 
America  prizes  something  he  gets  for  nothing  above 
something  possessing  more  merit,  but  for  which  he  had 
to  pay. 

Samples  of  patent  medicines  given  to  doctors  will 
result  in  their  widespread  use  and  will  cause  the  doctors 
to  prescribe  them  for  their  patients.  There  is  no  such 
disapproval  of  patent  medicines  anywhere  in  Latin- 
America  as  in  the  United  States,  and  doctors  are  just 
as  well  satisfied  to  prescribe  a  patent  preparation  for 
their  patients  as  to  order  something  to  be  made  up  by 
the  pharmacist.  This  last  condition  comes,  of  course, 
from  the  comparative  barrenness  of  the  continent  so 
far  as  modern  knowledge  of  drug-mixing  goes.  In  the 
few  leading  metropolitan  centers  there  are  drug-stores 
well  equipped  and  as  well  able  to  compound  drugs  in 
exact  compliance  with  a  physician's  prescription  as  in 
a  modern  American  drug-store.  This  is  not  general, 
however,  and  the  typical  Latin  apothecary  is  generally 
an  individual  whose  knowledge  of  the  pharmacopoeia  is 
a  decidedly  meager  one. 

All  of  this  creates  a  receptive  field  for  the  sale  of 
patent  medicines,  and  the  French  have  been  the  first  to 
seize  the  opportunity  offered.  French  medicine  is  far 
in  the  lead  throughout  Latin-America,  but  of  late 
American  medicine  has  begun  to  make  progress  and  a 
greater  use  of  advertising  in  a  more  intelligent  way 
would  largely  increase  present  sales. 

In  the  use  of  patent  medicine  the  average  Latin  re- 
sembles the  American  of  fifty  years  ago,  who  generally 
had  a  bottle  of  some  concoction  on  which  he  depended 
whenever  he  felt  out  of  sorts.    These  preparations  were 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  151 

mostly  made  of  alcohol  and  some  coloring  matter,  and 
it  must  be  admitted  that  the  present  patents  sold  are 
far  more  adapted  to  the  needs  they  are  alleged  to  fill 
than  in  years  past,  so  that  in  building  up  a  business 
through  their  sale  a  permanent  field  is  being  created 
which  will  not  have  to  undergo  the  attacks  rightfully 
made  against  the  old  style  of  American  patent  medicine. 

Every  Latin  country,  with  possibly  one  or  two  unim- 
portant exceptions,  has  some  sort  of  religious  press. 
Most  of  these  papers  are  edited  entirely  for  the  clergy, 
who  are  much  more  numerous  in  Latin-America  than 
in  the  United  States,  while  others  are  of  the  general 
tone  of  the  American  religious  weekly,  containing  Bible 
stories,  admonitions  for  right  living,  descriptions  of 
miracles  that  outstrip  the  imagination  of  the  leading 
writers  of  the  United  States,  and  pleas  for  contribu- 
tions to  various  religious  projects,  all  of  which  are 
guaranteed  to  result  for  the  donor  in  great  blessings  in 
the  world  to  come. 

All  such  papers  are,  of  course,  Roman  Catholic. 
While  there  is  little  religion  in  the  average  Latin,  he 
remembers  his  Catholic  birth  and  would  look  with  dis- 
pleasure on  any  paper  published  in  his  country  in  the 
interests  of  any  other  faith.  As  to  the  clergy,  there 
are  not  enough  non-Catholic  clergymen  in  the  various 
countries  to  warrant  any  publication  in  their  particular 
behalf. 

In  the  papers  of  this  type  a  class  will  be  reached  who 
are  able  to  read,  and  whose  purchasing  power  is  excel- 
lent. They  serve  as  good  mediums  for  all  kinds  of 
advertising  and  should  always  be  included  in  publicity 
campaigns.  The  churches  are  fairly  well  supported, 
considering  their  great  number,  and  articles  for  church 


152  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

decoration  and  use  might  profitably  be  advertised  in 
this  way.  Each  parish  priest  takes  great  pride  in  his 
church  and  wishes  it  to  be  decorated  and  embellished 
to  a  high  degree.  He  usually  has  the  loyal  support  of 
the  women,  if  not  of  the  men,  and  is  able  to  secure  suf- 
ficiently large  contributions  from  his  flock  to  keep  things 
going  fairly  well.  In  the  large  cities  there  are  numerous 
very  rich  churches  to  which  sales  of  the  most  expensive 
church  supplies  might  be  made. 

This  is  a  field  in  which  little  business  has  been  done 
by  Americans,  most  of  the  trade  being  in  the  hands 
of  old-established  Spanish  and  French  church  supply 
houses  having  their  headquarters  in  Paris  or  Madrid. 
However,  this  is  a  restricted  field  in  which  only  a  few 
commercial  concerns  would  probably  feel  justified  in 
spending  much  money  for  advertising. 

In  the  general  religious  papers  published  for  family 
reading  an  excellent  field  for  publicity  is  offered  which 
has  so  far  received  little  attention  from  American  ad- 
vertisers. It  is  well  known  that  the  nationally-read 
religious  papers  of  the  United  States  are  among  the 
best  mediums  for  stimulating  sales  in  the  country,  and 
there  is  no  clear  reason  why  such  should  not  be  the 
case  in  Latin-America.  In  selecting  copy  for  such 
papers  it  will  be  well  to  depend  to  a  great  extent  on 
advertising  which  is  largely  pictorial.  It  will  be  found 
that  such  papers  usually  enter  homes  where  the  heads 
of  the  family  are  able  to  read  and  write,  but  where  they 
are  also  seen  by  a  number  of  household  servants  who 
are  illiterate  and  whose  only  understanding  of  the 
articles  advertised  must  come  through  an  easily  under- 
stood picture. 

These  papers  are  essentially  local  and  their  rates,  of 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  153 

necessity,  are  very  low,  provided  their  publishers  are  ap- 
proached in  the  way  usual  to  the  Latin  mind,  that  is,  if 
diplomatic  negotiations  are  carried  on  which  assume  as 
a  matter  of  course  that  the  rate  first  asked  is  only  given 
on  the  theory  that  it  does  no  harm  to  ask  and  that  it 
is  always  possible  to  come  down  if  the  intending  adver- 
tiser is  too  wise  to  agree  to  the  first  terms  quoted.  This 
necessitates  the  use  of  a  man  on  the  ground  and  in  close 
personal  touch  with  the  situation,  but  this  is  something 
that  holds  good  all  through  any  extensive  campaign  to 
be  conducted  in  Latin- America,  and  any  expenditure  of 
a  large  appropriation  in  other  ways  would  be  extremely 
unwise. 

In  addition  to  the  medical  and  religious  press  already 
described,  there  is  little  else  falling  in  this  class.  In 
Brazil,  Uruguay,  Argentina  and  Chile  there  has  been 
a  half-hearted  attempt  to  launch  an  agricultural  press. 
Although  the  several  governments,  through  their  de- 
partments of  agriculture,  have  lent  strenuous  efforts  to 
make  for  their  respective  countries  a  truly  representa- 
tive agricultural  press,  the  fact  is  that  progress  has 
been  very  slow.  Principally  to  be  blamed  for  this  con- 
dition is  the  fact  that  the  actual  tillers  of  the  soil 
throughout  Latin-America  are  generally  illiterate,  while 
the  large  landowners  and  estate  proprietors  are  of  the 
cultured  class,  having  access  to  the  best  literature  of 
their  own  and  foreign  countries.  There  is  no  middle 
class  in  South  America,  such  as  make  up  the  greater 
part  of  the  circulation  of  such  well  known  farm  papers 
as  the  "Country  Gentleman"  or  the  "American  Farmer" 
in  the  United  States. 

In  Argentina,  Brazil  and  Chile  there  has  been  some 
attempt  to  establish  trade  papers  for  the  use  of  local 


154  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

retail  merchants.  Here  again  there  would  be  duplica- 
tion of  circulation  of  a  character  not  economical  to 
advertisers.  Taking  the  situation  as  a  whole  and  from 
the  standpoint  of  most  advertisers  who  will  have  occa- 
sion to  inspect  the  Latin-American  field,  it  may  be 
accepted  as  a  certainty  that  the  medical  and  religious 
papers  exhaust  everything  worth  while  in  this  general 
class. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Ephemeral  character  of  most  Latin  newspapers — Concentration  on 
politics — Attacks  on  the  United  States — The  Monroe  Doctrine — Making 
friends  through  advertising — Description  of  the  leading  dailies — Pecul- 
iar methods  of  distribution — Difficulty  of  getting  circulation  figures — 
Necessity  for  bargaining  to  get  best  rates — ^Advantages  of  using  mats. 

THE  world  possesses  few  institutions  so  ephem- 
eral in  character  as  the  average  South 
American  newspaper.  This  characterization 
does  not  apply,  of  course,  to  the  few  really  great  dailies 
of  Rio  and  Buenos  Aires,  but  in  general  it  may  safely 
be  said  that  the  birth  and  death  rate  of  the  smaller 
papers  throughout  the  South  American  continent  ex- 
ceeds that  of  any  other  commodity,  institution  or  what- 
ever such  a  mushroom  class  of  publication  may  be 
rightfully  called. 

Practically  every  newspaper  in  South  America  is  a 
political  organ  and  regards  politics  as  its  chief  reason 
for  existing.  A  change  of  administration  in  any  country 
is  sure  to  be  followed  by  the  death  of  certain  papers 
and  the  birth  of  others.  To  print  news  simply  because 
it  is  news  would  seem  the  height  of  folly  to  the  average 
Latin  editor,  who  regards  his  proper  sphere  as  lying 
immensely  more  in  the  role  of  a  director  of  political 
affairs  than  as  a  purveyor  of  a  mere  commercial  com- 
modity, as  news  is  universally  regarded  in  South 
America.  The  oratory  which  comes  naturally  to  the 
Latin  temperament  finds  a  fertile  field  for  expression 
in  the  columns  of  the  newspapers  owned  by  its  editors 


156  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

or  controlled  by  politicians  who  wish  to  impress  the 
populace  with  their  erudition.  Columns  of  political 
news  are  published  daily  embracing  the  use  of  superla- 
tives so  frequently  that  one  often  wonders  how  the 
editors  would  meet  any  really  great  emergency  to  which 
they  desired  to  call  particular  attention. 

It  is  inevitable  that  such  tactics  largely  destroy  the 
prestige  that  might  be  wielded  by  these  publications. 
The  best  indication  of  the  great  power  of  the  printed 
word  in  South  America,  when  the  people  really  feel 
confidence  in  the  newspaper,  is  the  enormous  influence 
of  the  few  really  substantial  papers  of  the  big  cities. 
"La  Prensa,"  for  instance,  has  the  largest  circulation 
of  any  newspaper  in  South  America  and  wields  a  cor- 
responding influence,  because  more  than  half  a  century 
of  honorable  dealing  by  its  management  has  proved  to 
the  people  that  they  may  safely  follow  its  advice.  The 
majority  of  papers,  however,  suffer  to  a  sad  degree  when 
compared  to  "La  Prensa."  Most  of  them  are  of  such 
a  character  that  with  us  they  would  never  be  read. 
They  are  far  below  the  standard  of  the  American  coun- 
try weekly  of  thirty  years  ago,  both  typographically 
and  editorially. 

For  many  reasons,  some  of  which  go  back  more  than 
a  century,  the  majority  of  these  small  papers  are  vio- 
lently anti-American.  There  seems  to  be  a  psychological 
situation  in  the  relationship  existing  between  the  United 
States  and  South  America  which  lends  itself  to  the 
uses  of  the  cheap  jingoes  who  control  most  of  South 
i  America's  publications.  Attacks  on  American  ideas 
subtly  extend  themselves  to  attacks  on  American  goods, 
with  results  that  naturally  are  of  no  benefit  to  our 
products.    However,  the  growing  volume  of  advertising 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  157 

from  this  country  that  is  now  being  placed  in  South 
American  publications  is  having  its  inevitable  effect, 
and  of  late  there  has  been  a  pronounced  drop  in  the 
number  and  character  of  the  attacks  on  this  country 
which  appear  in  Latin  papers.  Evidently  the  same 
principles  that  govern  the  publication  of  newspapers 
in  the  United  States  operate  also  in  South  America  and 
the  newspaper  editor's  heart  continues  to  be  where  his 
treasure  is. 

The  Monroe  Doctrine  is  as  precious  a  stock  in  trade 
to  every  South  American  newspaper  as  the  mechanism 
for  twisting  the  lion's  tail  used  to  be  in  this  country. 
It  affords  a  never-ending  source  of  cheap  demagoguery 
when  everything  else  fails.  Only  in  a  land  of  "manana" 
could  readers  find  time  for  the  long-winded  screeds  that 
fill  columns  of  Latin  papers.  It  is  clear,  however,  that 
conditions  are  changing  and  that  the  fear  of  more 
energetic  competition  is  arousing  a  spirit  for  a  better 
type  of  newspapers  in  all  parts  of  South  America.  The 
circulation  of  publications  from  other  countries,  both 
in  Europe  and  from  the  United  States,  is  having  a  dis- 
tinct effect  on  the  native  press  and  improvements,  while 
hard  for  the  newcomer  to  see,  are  plain  to  any  one  who 
is  familiar  with  the  past  twenty  years'  history  of  South 
America. 

It  may  safely  be  taken  for  granted  that  at  least  three- 
quarters  of  the  hostility  shown  to  America  and  Ameri- 
can goods  in  South  American  newspapers  will  disappear 
as  advertising  from  this  country  becomes  more  general 
in  the  South  American  press  and  the  gold  of  our  ex- 
porters and  manufacturers  begins  to  trickle  into  the 
coffers  of  the  unscrupulous  pirates  and  half-educated 
bounders  who  now  hold  down  most  of  Latin-America's 


158  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

editorial  chairs.  The  effect  of  gold  on  these  people  is 
little  short  of  marvelous.  By  its  use  the  Latin  editor 
quickly  learns  to  see  that  he  was  mistaken  about  the 
great  republic  in  the  North,  and  that  instead  of  being 
a  devouring  monster  ready  to  annihilate  the  struggling 
countries  of  South  America,  it  is,  in  fact,  a  friendly  big 
brother,  eager  to  lend  a  neighborly  hand  in  establishing 
peace  and  prosperity. 

A  large  part  of  the  general  dislike  for  Americans, 
American  goods  and  American  institutions  that  is  met 
everywhere  in  South  America  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the 
fact  that  European  ideas  ha%e  always  had  by  far  the 
best  means  of  securing  a  hearing  in  all  parts  of  Latin- 
America.  The  United  States,  until  within  a  few  years, 
has  been  criminally  careless  in  allowing  the  cable  lines 
that  carry  news  and  propaganda  to  South  American 
countries  to  be  in  European  and  unfriendly  hands. 
Nearly  every  bit  of  cable  news  that  has  gone  into  the 
columns  of  South  American  newspapers  for  the  past 
half  century  has  been  transmitted  over  wires  that  are 
notoriously  biased  and  prejudiced  against  the  United 
States. 

Most  of  the  cable  news  of  world  events  published  in 
South  America  comes  over  the  Renter  cable,  a  distinctly 
pro-English  service.  The  Havas  Agency  of  Vienna  is 
second,  and  the  Wolff  service,  owned  in  Berlin,  Ger- 
many, was  also  prominent  before  the  war  shut  it  off  in 
1914.  Naturally,  little  care  is  taken  by  any  one  of  these 
news  agencies  to  secure  for  the  United  States  a  fair 
presentation  of  its  case.  One  of  the  greatest  difficulties 
confronting  the  United  States  during  the  World  War, 
first,  to  preserve  neutrality  and  second,  to  obtain  the 
cooperation  of  South  America  after  we  entered  the  con- 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  159 

flict,  came  through  the  unfriendly  attitude  created  in 
the  minds  of  the  people  by  the  colored  news  they  had 
been  fed.  The  English  company  always  keeps  one  eye 
fastened  on  the  commercial  interests  of  British  indus- 
tries, and  any  message  reflecting  on  the  character  or 
price  of  American  goods  always  seems  to  get  the  right 
of  way  over  its  lines. 

Next  to  politics  and  flamboyant  accounts  of  interna- 
tional affairs,  nearly  all  Latin  newspapers  devote  the 
bulk  of  their  attention  to  such  things  as  sport,  poetry, 
music,  accounts  of  speeches,  and  letters  to  the  editors. 
News  gets  into  print  in  most  of  them  only  after  the 
supply  of  this  material  gives  out.  Letters  to  the  editor 
are  one  of  the  popular  pastimes,  and  no  smug  English- 
man, writing  to  the  "London  Times"  to  know  why 
Americans  are  not  kept  in  their  proper  place,  has  any- 
thing on  the  Latin- American  who  stabs  his  enemies  and 
eulogizes  his  friends  through  several  columns  of  news- 
paper type.  The  death  of  President  McKinley  was  com- 
municated to  the  readers  of  a  Latin-American  paper  as 
follows:  "President  McKinley  of  North  America  died 
last  night,"  while  two  columns  on  the  same  page  were 
devoted  to  the  breaking  of  a  jockey's  leg  at  the  local 
race-track. 

It  is  in  such  an  atmosphere  as  this  that  American 
ideas  and  goods  must  struggle  for  a  hearing.  To  strive 
for  success  on  the  ground  of  essential  merit  alone  would 
be  foolhardy,  but  the  advertising  campaigns  that  are 
already  under  way,  together  with  many  others  now 
being  planned,  will  change  this  state  of  affairs.  It  will 
take  a  long  time  to  wipe  out  national  prejudices  that 
have  been  sedulously  fed  and  cultivated  for  many  dec- 
ades, but  the  Latin  forgets  easily  and  the  arguments 


160  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

against  the  United  States  to  which  he  has  been  accus- 
tomed never  had  any  real  ground  under  them.  The 
particular  point  on  which  great  care  should  now  be 
exercised  is  to  make  certain  that  in  removing  the  old 
hatreds  which  passion  and  national  pride  built  up  we 
do  not  create  others  in  their  place  to  plague  us  later  on. 
That  is  one  of  the  most  urgent  reasons  for  the  necessity 
of  American  advertisers  assuring  themselves  that  the 
advertising  copy  they  prepare  for  use  in  South  America 
does  not  violate  some  subtle  phase  of  the  Latin  tempera- 
ment. 

The  remarks  just  made  pertain  mainly,  of  course,  to 
the  weekly  papers  that  form  the  largest  class  of  South 
American  publications  and  that  come  nearest  to  the 
country  weekly  of  the  small  American  town.  The  large 
dailies  are  few  in  number  but  great  in  influence,  and 
require  very  different  treatment.  In  the  case  of  the 
important  dailies,  the  ownership  is  the  most  essential 
thing.  Many  of  them  have  great  resources  and  are  com- 
parable in  every  way  with  the  prominent  dailies  of  the 
principal  American  cities,  wielding  an  even  greater  in- 
fluence, perhaps,  than  any  publication  in  the  United 
States. 

The  papers  of  Buenos  Aires  are  easily  the  leaders  of 
the  entire  South  American  continent.  Although  about 
thirty  papers  are  published  in  the  city,  half  of  which 
are  in  Spanish,  two  are  certain  to  be  used  for  advertis- 
ing copy  placed  by  American  firms.  These  are  "La 
Prensa"  and  "La  Nacion,"  either  of  which  would  be  a 
paper  of  commanding  importance  if  published  in  New 
York.  These  papers  are  complete  in  every  sense  of  the 
word  and  are  conducted  in  as  enterprising  a  manner  as 
any  American  paper.     They  are  by  far  the  cleanest 


■Newspapers  feature  with  plioto-engravinKS  funerals,  murders,  sui- 
cides, deatii-bed  scenes,  cemeteries,  executions,  and  surgical  operations. 
Eacli  illustration  is  talien  from  a  periodical  of  a  different  country. 


The  Latin-American  of  all  classes  and  both  sexes  revels  in  the  sordid  and 
the  gruesome.  Pictures  like  these  are  to  be  found  in  the  leading  dailies  and 
weeklies.  Each  of  these  illustrations  is  taken  from  a  periodical  of  a  different 
country. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  161 

journals  in  South  America,  so  far  as  freedom  from  un- 
merited and  scurrilous  attacks  on  foreigners  are  con- 
cerned, and  both  make  a  sincere  effort  to  print  all  the 
news  in  a  fair  manner.  They  circulate  everywhere  in 
Argentina,  having  about  half  their  circulation  outside 
of  Buenos  Aires,  a  fact  made  possible  by  the  railroad 
system  of  the  country,  which  spreads  out  like  a  fan 
from  the  capital  city. 

Of  the  papers  published  in  foreign  languages  in 
Buenos  Aires,  four  are  in  Italian  and  two  each  in 
English,  German  and  French.  The  English  papers 
have  a  wide  circulation  among  Americans  in  Argentina, 
for  want  of  anything  better,  but  the  policy  of  both  has 
been  consistently  British  at  all  times,  that  is,  they  slur 
the  United  States  and  its  people  and  products,  although 
both  are  largely  kept  going  with  revenue  derived  from 
advertising  inserted  by  American  firms.  Practically 
all  the  newspapers  of  the  city  are  made  up  after  the  style 
of  British  dailies,  with  three  or  four  pages  of  closely 
set,  non-display  want  "ads"  before  any  news  or  display 
advertising  is  reached.  This  style  of  make-up  is  a  diffi- 
cult barrier  to  overcome,  and  it  is  further  complicated 
by  the  fact  that  when  advertisements  are  inserted  with- 
out a  definite  agreement  as  to  position,  they  are  pretty 
sure  to  be  hidden  in  pages  of  solid  advertising  where 
only  persons  with  a  pronounced  passion  for  reading  ad- 
vertisements are  apt  to  find  them.  In  other  words,  the 
psychological  factor  is  largely  ignored  and  little  is  done 
to  attract  the  eye  by  an  artistic  division  of  advertising 
and  reading  matter. 

In  this  connection  it  might  be  observed  that  there  is 
no  truly  American  paper  published  in  all  South  Amer- 
ica, except  in  Havana  and  at  Panama.    American  events 


162  ADVERTISIKG  FOB  TBADE 

are  thus  under  a  perpetual  handicap  and  in  continual 
danger  of  being  misrepresented  before  the  reading 
public  of  the  entire  continent.  The  manner  in  which 
news  was  misrepresented  was  much  greater  prior  to 
1914  than  at  the  present  time,  when  both  the  Associated 
Press  and  the  United  Press  have  made  arrangements 
for  the  installation  of  their  service  by  the  more  impor- 
tant dailies,  but  there  is  still  great  room  for  improve- 
ment. A  short  time  ago  ten  of  the  daily  papers  of 
Buenos  Aires  were  receiving  more  or  less  news  from 
these  two  services,  but  they  also  continued  their  main 
dependence  on  non- American  news  service. 

Altogether,  Argentina  has  about  five  hundred  publi- 
cations, about  half  of  which  are  printed  in  the  capital 
city.  Of  this  number,  there  are  not  twenty  in  which  an 
American  advertiser  would  be  likely  to  feel  any  interest 
or  in  which  the  pulling  power  in  favor  of  advertised 
goods  would  be  likely  to  repay  the  investment  required. 
The  great  dailies  remain,  with  the  exception  of  the 
high-grade  weeklies  discussed  in  the  next  chapter,  the 
main  dependence  for  reaching  the  public.  In  Argentina, 
much  more  than  in  any  other  South  American  country, 
it  is  possible  to  reach  the  buying  public  through  the 
daily  papers.  The  percentage  of  literacy  is  highest  in 
that  country  by  a  wide  margin,  the  average  buying 
power  of  its  citizens  is  greater,  and  reading  habits  are 
better  established.  If  an  advertising  campaign  is  de- 
vised which  will  use  both  of  the  leading  morning  papers 
and  one  each  of  the  foreign  language  papers,  together 
with  the  best  weekly,  the  field  will  be  about  as  thor- 
oughly covered  as  it  is  possible  to  arrange  for  at  this 
time. 

Advertisers   in   the   better   class   dailies   of   South 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  163 

America  are  often  surprised  at  the  high  rates  asked. 
Rates,  on  the  whole,  are  higher  than  in  the  United 
States,  and  a  stiff  premium  is  asked  for  special  position. 
Inasmuch  as  the  only  worthwhile  locations  in  the  paper 
are  in  the  special  position  class,  this  rate  may  as  well 
be  considered  the  regular  rate,  as  advertisements  in- 
serted in  the  hodgepodge  of  solid  advertising  pages 
might  as  well  never  be  written. 

It  must  be  recollected  that  the  business  oflSce  of 
Latin  papers  operates  on  different  principles  from  th^ 
modern  American  daily.  Statements  of  its  circulation 
are  not  usually  published,  and  any  attempts  to  get  one 
often  will  only  result  in  confusion  for  the  seeker.  Most 
newspaper  proprietors  have  so  far  refused  to  accept  the 
idea  that  advertisers  have  any  right  to  know  whether 
or  not  they  are  getting  what  they  pay  for.  The  pub- 
lishers declare  that  the  rate  for  advertising  in  their 
papers  is  so  much,  and  that  advertisers  are  at  liberty 
to  take  it  or  leave  it.  Inasmuch  as  the  same  idea  pre- 
vails in  most  newspaper  offices  from  the  Texas  border 
to  Cape  Horn,  the  advertiser  who  wishes  to  try  out  his 
campaign  has  nothing  to  do  but  trust  in  God  and  go 
ahead. 

Newspaper  distribution  is  also  carried  on  very  differ- 
ently than  with  us.  No  such  stability  of  circulation 
from  day  to  day  is  ever  thought  of,  except  among  a  few 
of  the  high  grade  dailies.  In  Brazil  the  business  of 
publishing  daily  newspapers  is  even  more  complicated 
and  uncertain  than  in  Argentina.  There  are  about 
eight  hundred  publications  in  Brazil,  as  compared  with 
five  hundred  in  Argentina,  but  owing  to  the  high  per- 
centage of  illiteracy  in  Brazil  and  the  mediocrity  of 
hundreds  of  papers  published  in  that  country,  an  even 


164  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

smaller  percentage  of  them  would  be  of  interest  to  an 
American  advertiser  than  in  Argentina.  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  the  capital  city,  dominates  the  intellectual  life 
of  Brazil,  but  not  to  the  same  extent  that  Buenos  Aires 
dominates  Argentina.  Enormous  distances  and  lack  of 
transportation  facilities  are  responsible  for  this  con- 
dition. 

Rio  de  Janeiro  with  a  population  of  about  one  million 
has  fourteen  daily  papers,  of  which  thirteen  are  pub- 
lished in  Portuguese  and  one  in  Italian.  No  Spanish 
daily  exists,  the  language  of  the  country  being  almost 
entirely  Portuguese,  except  where  large  immigrant 
bodies  have  settled.  Spanish  is  much  disregarded  in 
Brazil,  and  to  address  a  merchant  in  Spanish  or  to  send 
him  printed  matter  in  that  language  is  considered  insult- 
ing by  many.  If  it  is  impossible  to  use  Portuguese,  it  is 
better  to  use  French,  as  all  the  better-class  Brazilians 
understand  that  language  and  feel  complimented  when 
so  addressed.  Of  late,  however,  English  has  made  great 
strides  in  Brazil,  and  the  English-speaking  traveler  has 
little  difficulty  in  making  himself  understood.  In  the 
southern  part  of  Brazil,  particularly  around  Sao  Paulo, 
German  is  widely  spoken. 

Of  the  other  important  cities  of  Brazil,  Sao  Paulo 
has  about  five  hundred  thousand  people  and  ten  daily 
papers,  nine  in  Portuguese  and  one  in  Italian;  Bahia, 
with  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people,  has  seven 
dailies,  all  in  Portuguese;  Pernambuco,  with  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  people,  has  four  Portuguese 
dailies ;  Para  has  three.  Porta  Alegre  three,  Rio  Grande 
do  Sul  three  and  Manaos  and  Santos  two  each,  all  of 
the  latter  being  in  Portuguese.  Circulation  in  all  cases 
is  impossible  to  estimate,  and  publishers'  statements 


TERRIBLE  PROBLEMA 

PARA  LA  ADMINISTRACION  MILITAR 


Kiaspoa  tieue  ndor  t>ani  matar  tm  polld 

Latin-American  papers  of  all  kinds  are  guilty  of  piracy.  This  picture 
appeared  in  "Life,"  of  August  23,  1917.  The  clipping  is  from  "El  Mercurio" 
of  Santiago,  Chile,  September  14,  1917.  "Life"  is  not  given  credit  for  the 
same. 

"El  Mercurio"  is  the  leading  paper  of  Chile. 


Ultimo®  cli^3 

FEI^OMEHO  AflATOlWICO 


Exhibici6n 
instructiva 


Montes  de  oca.  309 

Avellaneda 


Oara  principio  HOY 


Unicoserviviente 
que  presenta  por  un 
lado  ser  una  MUJER 
y  el  otro  un  HOMBRE 
yque 

ES  MUJER 

Es  nn  ser  indefinido.  Asf  lo  certifican  las  principales  Facultades  de  Medicina  de  America 
del  Norte,  Francia,  Italia,  Espafia,  Inglaterra  y  Portugal. 

Es  una  conjuncion  de  forma?  antag6nicas  en  que  se  manifiesta  visiblemente  la  est^tica 
masculina  y  femenina,  poseyendo,  organos  indefinidos  y  considerados  psiquimicamente  como 
neutros. 

Su  cuerpo  despuSs  de  muerto,  esta  vendido  por  50.000  duros  para  la  Facultad  de  Medi- 
cina de  Paris.  La  generacion  actual  no  debe  perder  la  ocasiOn  de  admirar  este  fen6meno  de 
la  Naturaleza,  porque  es  uu  fen6meno  humaao  viviente  que  no  aparece  en  muchos  siglos. 
Dentro  del  local  de  la  exhibici6n  estar^n  de  manifiesto  los  certificados  medicos. 

SOLO  SE  PERMITIRA  LA  ENTRADA.A  PERSONAS  MAYORES  DE  ED  AD 

Papers  do  not  discriminate  as  to  the  style  of  copy  or  the  business  of  the 
advertiser.  This  advertisement  is  from  the  Argentine  and  features  an  "anatom- 
ical freak"  who,  as  the  announcement  says,  "sometimes  acts  and  lives  as  a 
woman  and  at  other  times  as  a  man."  The  last  line  announces  that  "only 
persons  of  age  will  be  admitted." 


Nl  ES  HOMBRE  Nl 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  165 

are  taken  by  advertisers  with  large  grains  of  salt. 
Everywhere  in  Brazil  newspaper  rates  are  adjusted  on 
the  basis  of  asking  a  good  strong  price  and  then  taking 
what  you  can  get. 

Published  advertising  rates  are  seldom  any  criterion 
of  what  an  advertisement  will  cost,  if  the  publisher  or 
his  representative  is  interviewed  and  "seen"  in  accord- 
ance with  the  custom  of  the  country,  a  custom  now  os- 
tensibly limited  to  aldermen  in  the  United  States.  For 
this  reason  it  is  obvious  that  the  conduct  of  an  eco- 
nomical advertising  campaign  to  increase  the  sale  of 
American  goods  in  Brazil  must  either  be  managed  by 
a  representative  right  on  the  ground  who  can  negotiate 
directly  with  the  newspaper  offices,  or  the  task  must 
be  entrusted  to  an  agency  that  knows  exactly  what  it  is 
doing  and  what  methods  must  be  employed  to  save 
money.  The  old  proverb,  "When  in  Rome  do  as  the 
Romans  do,"  is  very  much  to  the  point  in  this  connec- 
tion. Americans  who  want  to  do  business  in  Brazil 
must  do  it  in  the  manner  of  the  Brazilians,  which  means 
an  occasional  operation  of  crossing  somebody's  palm 
with  silver. 

Make-up  follows  the  European  style — no  news  until 
several  pages  of  classified  "want  ads"  have  been  passed ; 
no  intelligent  headlines,  and  no  effort  to  secure  that 
finished  appearance  which  is  typical  of  the  poorest 
American  daily.  The  most  important  news  is  often 
buried  in  some  odd  corner  of  the  paper,  and  only  a 
conscientious  reading  of  the  whole  issue  will  assure  one 
that  the  news  has  really  been  read.  This  is  not  alto- 
gether unfortunate,  as  the  Brazilians  are  in  the  habit  of 
reading  every  word  and  any  advertising  inserted  is 


166  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

fairly  certain  to  be  brought  before  their  eyes  at  some 
stage  of  this  voluminous  reading  process. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  point  out  here  that  advertise- 
ments in  South  American  dailies  are,  as  a  rule,  very 
much  smaller  than  with  us.  Small  space  is  the  usual 
thing,  and  a  piece  of  copy  filling  a  quarter  of  a  page 
will  dominate  the  whole  issue.  Owing  to  the  fact  that 
large  type  is  seldom  required,  most  Latin  dailies  have 
little  of  it  on  hand  and  what  is  available  usually  con- 
sists of  old  and  worn-out  faces.  For  this  reason  adver- 
tisers, especially  those  using  space  that  requires  large 
display  type,  should  by  all  means  supply  their  own 
plates  or  mats,  making  sure  first,  however,  that  the 
mechanical  equipment  of  the  paper  in  which  the  adver- 
tising is  to  be  run  can  use  the  kind  of  plate  or  mat  pre- 
pared. 

Any  effort  to  secure  reliable  data  on  circulation  is 
useless.  The  best  plan  is  to  study  the  local  field,  decide 
what  papers  are  best  to  use,  and  then  drive  the  best 
bargain  possible  with  the  publisher  of  the  paper.  With 
few  exceptions  the  use  of  advertising  agents  located  in 
Brazilian  cities  is  foolish,  because  they  are  usually  in 
league  with  the  publisher  and  will  unite  with  him  to 
take  advantage  of  a  foreign  advertiser. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Booklets,  plain  and  colored  advertising  materials,  puzzles  and  "holy- 
pictures"  always  bring  results  in  Latin-American  advertising  campaigns. 

AMONG  the  valuable  media  which  may  be  ad- 
vantageously used  as  propaganda  in  Latin- 
America  are  booklets,  cards,  either  in  colors  or 
black  and  white,  postal-cards,  puzzles  and  religious  or 
so-called  "holy  pictures." 

It  may  be  put  down  as  one  of  the  hard  and  fast  rules 
of  advertising  in  this  part  of  the  world  that  plain 
text  not  illustrated  lacks  essentially  in  "pulling"  power, 
due  to  the  illiteracy  of  the  native.  It  therefore  follows 
that  becoming  illustrations  add  enormously  to  the 
value  of  any  advertising  text  or  copy.  The  appropriate- 
ness of  the  picture  used  should  be  given  serious  con- 
sideration, for  no  people  are  as  sensitive  or  as  quick  to 
resent  insinuations  as  the  Latin- Americans.  I  have  seen 
incensed  Chilanos  destroy  thousands  of  booklets  used 
for  advertising  an  American  dyspepsia  cure,  because 
more  space  was  given  to  praising  the  valor  of  the 
"heroes  of  Peru"  than  was  devoted  to  those  of  Chile. 
The  person  who  prepared  the  copy  evidently  did  not 
know  that  perhaps  the  bitterest  war  ever  fought  on  this 
continent  was  between  Peru  and  Chile  and  that  the 
peace  terms  enforced  on  Chile  were  the  most  exorbitant 
the  world  up  to  that  time  had  ever  known,  for  Chile 
took  as  compensation  the  wealthy  nitrate  provinces  of 
Tacna  and  Arica  which  have  since  yielded  her  billions  of 

167 


168  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

dollars  in  revenue.  Although  peace  between  these  two 
republics  was  declared  in  1884,  there  still  exists  a  feeling 
of  hatred  between  these  nations,  much  the  same  as  was 
current  in  France  against  Germany  and  the  Germans 
in  the  provinces  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine.  There  is  a 
saying  in  South  America  which  well  expresses  the 
situation :  "To  make  a  Chilian  like  you,  speak  with  con- 
tempt of  the  Peruvians — to  make  a  Peruvian  love  you, 
say  the  worst  things  possible  of  the  Chilanos." 

A  good  rule  to  follow  in  preparing  copy  for  books 
intended  for  distribution  throughout  Latin-America  is 
to  speak  in  the  most  glowing  and  complimentary  terms 
of  the  country  or  countries,  the  inhabitants,  and  the 
governments.  The  average  Latin- American  can  absorb 
and  assimilate  more  high-frequency  flattery  than  any 
other  human  being  on  the  face  of  the  earth — in  fact, 
he  thrives  on  it  and  is  sorely  disappointed  if  he  does 
not  receive  it  at  all  times  and  on  all  occasions.  To 
substantiate  the  truthfulness  of  this  statement  one  has 
only  to  read  a  Spanish  letter,  which,  instead  of  our 
formal  and  sufficient  "Yours  very  truly,"  invariably 
closes  with  some  such  phrase  as  "Your  obedient  and 
secure  servant  who  kisses  your  hand."  Or  read  in  the 
daily  paper,  in  the  mortuary  column,  an  announcement 
of  the  "death  of  my  highly  virtuous  wife,  Maria,"  a 
condition  of  affairs  always  assumed  to  exist  among  us 
less  volatile  Northerners. 

Bear  in  mind  always,  in  preparing  booklets  for  these 
people,  that  the  average  Latin-American  rarely  leaves 
the  immediate  locality  in  which  he  was  born.  However, 
he  has  a  consuming  desire  to  know  something  of  the 
great  world  outside  his  range  of  vision  and  is  hungry 
to  get  this  information.  Perhaps  no  other  booklet  of  its 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  169 

type  ever  received  snch  popular  approval  from  the 
masses  as  one  which  had  on  every  alternate  page  a 
picture  depicting  some  wonder  in  the  United  States. 
For  this  purpose  I  used  half-tones  showing  Niagara 
Falls,  the  Washington  Monument,  the  Singer  Building, 
a  diagram  of  the  subway,  the  elevated  railway,  the  Big 
Trees  of  California,  an  oil  gusher  and  a  salt  well.  Below 
each  reproduction  appeared  a  few  words  of  appropriate 
description,  with  the  dimensions  in  meters  and  not  in 
feet  or  inches,  for  the  latter  system  of  measurement 
would  be  meaningless  to  Latin-Americans.  It  is  always 
advisable,  and  also  patriotic,  to  "play  up"  one's  own 
country  in  all  such  advertising  material,  and,  con- 
versely, exhibits  poor  judgment  to  bring  other  nations, 
their  inhabitants  or  wonders  into  the  scene.  The  more 
the  foreigner  learns  of  the  United  States  and  the  things 
it  possesses,  the  better  for  all  concerned  in  export  trade. 
By  bearing  this  thought  in  mind  every  American  adver- 
tising his  goods  in  overseas  markets  helps  his  fellow- 
countrymen  proportionately  and  incidentally  benefits 
his  land. 

The  large  majority  of  the  masses  are  intensely  and 
superstitiously  religious,  a  condition  which  may  be 
taken  advantage  of  with  propriety  because  the  Catholic 
church  in  these  countries  has  established  the  precedent. 
In  Peru  the  church  owns  a  spring,  the  water  from  which 
is  known  and  advertised  by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities 
as  "Jesus  Water."  Posters  intended  to  create  a  demand 
for  this  water  show  Christ  at  the  spring  with  his  feet 
in  the  water,  while  testimonials  recording  all  manner  of 
supernatural  cures  are  given.  In  one  of  these  testimon- 
ials, which  I  distinctly  recall,  a  certain  Manuel  Garcia 
wrote  with  pathos  of  his  childless  marriage  for  nine 


170  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

years,  until  his  parish  priest  recommended  Jesus  Water, 
with  the  happy  result  that  he  was  presented  with  a 
bouncing  boy,  due  solely  to  "his  wife  drinking  sixteen 
bottles  of  Jesus  Water." 

Reproductions  of  famous  holy  or  religious  paintings 
or  scenes  from  the  Bible  may  also  be  profitably  used. 
I  recall  an  elaborate  one  of  the  Virgin  of  Guadeloupe 
showing  her  with  her  infant  as  she  is  supposed  to  have 
appeared  to  the  Mexican  Indian.  One  arm  of  the  child 
is  reaching  for  the  bottle  of  patent  medicine,  which  the 
mother  holds  in  her  hand.  The  firm  manufacturing  this 
medicine  gave  these  cards  to  priests  and  nuns  for  dis- 
tribution to  their  friends,  thereby  acquiring  for  their 
product  an  added  spiritual  value  through  the  donors, 
who  invariably  took  advantage  of  every  opportunity  to 
speak  in  praise  of  the  preparation. 

I  plead  guilty  to  creating  a  saint  and  inducting  him 
into  my  service,  and  I  must  say  in  credit  to  the  fictitious 
gentleman  whom  I  canonized  that  he  rendered  valiant 
aid  in  the  field  wherein  he  was  exploited.  A  few  years 
ago  there  were  numerous  earthquakes  in  the  West 
Indies,  Venezuela,  Costa  Rica,  Guatemala  and  Chile. 
Very  naturally  these  had  the  effect  of  terrorizing  the 
simple  natives,  owing  to  the  heavy  loss  of  life  which 
not  infrequently  resulted  from  these  shakes.  It  oc- 
curred to  me  that  if  a  saint  could  be  found  whose  special 
duty  was  to  prevent  loss  of  life  during  these  seismic 
disturbances,  much  might  be  done  through  his  aid  to 
bring  calm  into  these  regions  of  terror. 

Unfortunately,  as  far  as  I  was  able  to  discover, 
neither  biblical  nor  church  history  recorded  such  an 
individual,  so  I  selected  my  second  name,  "Edmund," 
as  the  cognomen  for  the  new  assistant  deity,  added  the 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  171 

prefix  "Saint"  to  it,  and  wrote  an  appropriate  earth- 
quake prayer  which  was  printed  beneath  the  picture  of 
the  home-made  saint.  Instructions,  appearing  in  bold- 
face type,  told  recipients  to  nail  the  card  with  the 
"saint's"  picture  under  the  door-beam  and  to  stand 
during  a  quake  beneath  the  picture,  which  place,  by  the 
way,  is  the  safest  locality  during  such  tremors.  As  a 
consequence,  many  lives  were  presumably  saved,  the 
earthquakes  eventually  stopped,  as  I  knew  they  would, 
and  my  canonized  individual  made  good  to  such  an 
extent  that  several  editions  of  the  cards  were  exhausted. 
Of  course  each  card  contained  our  advertisement,  which 
the  supplicant  for  protection  must  have  seen  as  he 
prayed.  And,  best  of  all,  the  clergy  recommended  to 
their  parishioners  the  use  of  this  prayer  and  kept  pack- 
ages of  these  cards  for  distribution  to  the  faithful. 

Children  are  much  catered  to  throughout  these  lands. 
Education  is  becoming  more  common,  and  to  the 
illiterate  parent  the  child  who  reads  and  writes  is 
looked  upon  as  a  phenomenon.  He  is  known  throughout 
the  village  or  the  immediate  neighborhood,  and  his 
services  are  often  requisitioned  to  read  aloud  to  a  group 
of  neighbors  the  text  of  cards  or  pamphlets  which  have 
been  distributed,  following  which  all  present  generally 
indulge  in  an  animated  argument  regarding  the  same. 

In  view  of  this,  I  always  saw  to  it  that  teachers  and 
scholars  were  well  supplied  with  appropriate  advertis- 
ing literature.  The  children  invariably  took  such  ma- 
terial home,  and  thereby  emphatically  brought  it  to  the 
attention  of  their  elders  and  friends.  Perhaps  nothing 
more  perfectly  demonstrated  the  truth  of  this  fact  than 
a  tracing  book  which  I  prepared  for  a  soap  house.  The 
little  pamphlet  contained  a  page  of  text  relating  the 


172  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

virtues  of  the  soap  for  skin  troubles,  with  a  testimonial 
in  a  foot-note — for  testimonials  are  always  accepted  in 
these  lands  as  valuable  bits  of  evidence.  On  the  opposite 
page  was  a  religious  picture  or  some  other  simple  illus- 
tration in  line-drawing,  while  between  the  two  pages 
was  inserted  tracing  paper  with  a  space  at  the  bottom 
for  the  name  and  address  of  the  one  making  the  repro- 
duction and  note  requesting  that  the  recipient  send 
whichever  tracing  was  considered  best  to  the  address 
of  the  manufacturer  who,  in  return,  would  forward  an 
appropriate  souvenir.  For  years  after  this  pamphlet 
was  issued  they  kept  coming  to  the  home  office,  the 
names  and  addresses  thus  acquired  forming  the  basis 
of  an  excellent  mailing  list. 

Simple  puzzles  are  excellently  adapted  for  this  pur- 
pose, especially  if  made  of  paper  and  if  not  too  bulky 
to  be  sent  by  registered  mail,  for  if  forwarded  without 
this  precaution,  the  chances  are  that  they  will  all  be 
appropriated  by  the  post  office  employes,  who  in  every 
Latin-American  country  take  unusual  privileges  with 
parcels  passing  through  their  hands.  Spaniards  are 
greatly  interested  in  deciphering  puzzles,  and  nearly 
every  Spanish  and  Latin-American  magazine  devotes 
a  page  to  this  subject.  Missing-name  contests  are  also 
popular.  Jig-saw  pictures  would  attract  much  favor- 
able attention  and  prove  highly  valuable  as  advertising 
matter.  Cards  embodying  the  parallel  column  idea 
referred  to  in  the  Wine  of  Cod  Liver  Oil  poster  would 
be  ideal,  and  would  never  be  thrown  away. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  well  to  refer  to  such 
supplemental  advertising  materials  as  calendars  and 
almanacs,  both  of  which  are  used  extensively  and  which 
are   always   preserved.    In   addition   to   showing   the 


to  c      «i ' 


**  oi  t) 

?  aS 


^      TO  •     .*     ?^     Q 

^  a  ^.     <  ^  t-  fl 

o  2  s  "-s;  ®  -M 
g  §£2yCi.N 

^    3    rf         *t^    g    Q 

u  erg  c  c   -o 

oj  ,„  F  I'  J;  "^  •?; 


to-g 


ga 


O 


•q  i2    I-    1*    ^  r^    «J  "S 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  173 

months  and  days  of  the  year,  care  should  be  taken  to 
clearly  define  the  seasons,  remembering  always  that 
south  of  the  equator  these  are  the  reverse  of  our  own. 
Latin-American  holidays,  such  as  the  national  Inde- 
pendence Day,  should  be  printed  in  prominent  type  or 
red  ink.  A  list  of  these  political  days  can  always  be 
obtained  from  the  accredited  consul  to  the  United  States 
or  from  the  United  States  consul  located  in  each  coun- 
try. Religious  holidays  and  holy  days  are  always 
observed  south  of  the  Rio  Grande  and  should  also  be 
given  due  consideration.  Many  local  business  houses  of 
Latin-America  depend  solely  upon  this  form  of  adver- 
tising and  find  it  profitable.  It  is  excellently  adapted 
for  use  in  the  interior  towns  and  for  the  ranchers  and 
farmers.  I  have  never  known  of  an  American  business 
house  to  take  advantage  of  this  method  of  reaching 
interior  buyers.  For  advertising  farm  machinery,  agri- 
cultural implements,  patent  medicines  and  the  like,  it 
would  be  ideal. 

It  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  class  of 
advertising  is  almost  sure  to  pay  a  high  class  of  duty, 
and  provision  should  be  made  accordingly.  Of  course, 
if  the  calendars  or  almanacs  are  sent  by  mail  to  indi- 
viduals, in  all  probability  they  will  enter  duty  free. 

One  thought  should  always  be  kept  in  mind  when 
preparing  color  work  of  this  nature,  namely,  that  the 
bulk  of  the  population  of  most  Latin- American  countries 
have  negro  or  Indian  blood  in  their  veins  and  are  there- 
fore strongly  attracted  by  gaudy  coloring.  This,  how- 
ever, does  not  hold  true  of  the  inhabitants  of  Uruguay 
or  the  Argentine,  where  there  is  relatively  little  African 
or  Indian  strains. 

It  may  be  well  to  invite  the  attention  of  my  readers 


174  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

at  this  point  to  the  fact  that  propaganda  of  the  nature 
herein  described,  as  well  as  material  for  house-to-house 
distribution,  pays  a  very  high  duty  in  nearly  all  Latin- 
American  countries.  This  custom  house  charge  is  un- 
warranted and  without  reason.  Its  payment  would 
mean  a  heavy  additional  charge  against  the  advertising 
campaign,  did  not  an  opportunity,  legitimate  enough, 
exist  for  thwarting  the  unscrupulous  authorities  at 
their  own  game.  Furthermore,  its  practice  is  thor- 
oughly justified  and  actually  observed  by  those  familiar 
with  the  situation.  The  method  of  procedure  is  simple 
and  consists  in  consigning  to  one's  order,  or  to  the  order 
of  some  imaginary  person,  the  cases  containing  the  ad- 
vertising material  intended  for  a  certain  district  at  least 
three  months  before  the  intended  visit  of  the  agent  or 
distributor.  In  practically  all  of  these  countries  goods 
left  in  the  customs  warehouses  which  remain  uncalled 
for  after  ninety  days  are  sold  to  the  highest  bidder. 

In  due  time  the  shipment  which  is  intended  for  your 
traveler's  use  will  be  put  up  at  auction.  Obviously,  no 
one  will  care  to  bid  for  advertising  material  covered 
with  printed  announcements,  so  that  by  collusion  with 
some  local  representative,  previously  designated,  the 
entire  lot  may  be  bought  in  for  a  few  dollars,  much  less 
by  far  than  the  duties  would  have  been.  I  have  often 
had  goods  of  this  character  "knocked  down"  to  my 
representative  for  ninety  per  cent,  less  than  the  actual 
duties  assessed  against  the  shipment.  No  one  need  have 
any  qualms  of  conscience  over  such  a  procedure  on  his 
part,  for  I  am  positive  no  more  contemptible  brigand 
exists  the  world  over  than  the  average  Latin- American 
customs  official,  a  statement  that  will  be  unqualifiedly 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  175 

verified  by  every  man  who  has  had  any  dealings  with 
them. 

Local  native,  as  well  as  foreign,  merchants  of  the 
better  class  are  well  acquainted  with  methods  of  this 
nature  calculated  to  get  goods  into  the  country  at  the 
cheapest  and  most  economical  valuation,  and  it  is 
always  well  to  take  into  one's  confidence  a  reputable 
business  man  or  firm  and  to  follow  to  the  letter  the 
suggestions  given.  In  many  of  these  countries  there 
may  be  found  customs  house  brokers  who  "stand  in'' 
with  the  customs  grafters  and  who  are  in  position  to 
obtain  entrance  of  foreign  goods  at  a  minimum  fee.  I 
strongly  advise  getting  in  touch  with  reliable  and 
authoritive  sources  of  information  in  this  connection, 
for  it  will  ultimately  mean  the  saving  of  much  money 
and  time  in  the  course  of  one's  business. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  moving-picture  advertising  campaign  is  ideal  for  Latin-American 
countries,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  rate  of  illiteracy  is  high,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  purchasing  power  of  the  average  peon  is  perhaps  the 
best  in  the  world. 

AN  exceptional  opportunity  is  presented  to  those 
with  foresight  enough  to  take  advantage  of 
moving-pictures  to  introduce  their  wares  to 
Latin-America  and  the  rest  of  the  world  as  well.  The 
peoples  of  the  earth,  no  matter  what  may  be  their  sta- 
tion in  life  or  to  what  race  they  belong,  are  "movie 
mad."  The  picture  on  the  screen  speaks  all  languages 
and  appeals  to  every  one  able  to  see  and  who  is  provided 
with  ordinary  mentality.  It  tells  an  appealing  and  a 
convincing  story.  I  have  attended  cinematograph  exhibi- 
tions in  Japan,  China,  Arabia,  India,  throughout  Latin- 
America,  the  Holy  Land,  Algiers,  Egypt  and  elsewhere, 
and  have  always  noted  that  thrilling  pictures  exhila- 
rated every  audience  alike,  while  the  pathetic  scenes 
brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  those  present,  even  among 
nations  with  more  or  less  primitive  instincts.  In  other 
words,  those  who  attend  moving-picture  exhibitions  are 
more  or  less  alike  the  wide  world  over.  Other  travelers 
have  noted  this  and  frequently  commented  thereon. 
This  being  true,  it  must  be  obvious  that  for  advertising 
purposes  the  moving-picture  is  without  a  peer,  especially 
among  classes  of  limited  education.  It  is  also  well  to 
remember  that  a  special  value  and  emphasis  may  be 

176 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  177 

given  films  intended  for  this  type  of  people  by  coloring 
them,  the  brighter  and  more  vivid  the  better. 

Captions  for  the  scenes  should  always  be  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country  wherein  they  are  to  be  exhibited, 
and  in  lands  where  several  dialects  are  used,  as  in  India, 
China,  Egypt,  and  Turkey,  it  is  advisable  to  use  the 
leading  dialects  for  this  purpose.  In  preparing  these 
headings  great  care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  transla- 
tion made  by  a  competent  native  if  possible — one  thor- 
oughly familiar  with  local  idioms — for  nothing  tends 
to  detract  from  the  forcefulness  of  a  picture  so  much  as 
an  error  of  this  nature  and  foreign  audiences,  particu- 
larly those  of  Latin-America,  are  quick  to  detect  mis- 
takes and  ridicule  those  making  them.  Furthermore, 
incorrect  translations  reflect  on  the  house  using  them 
as  well  as  on  the  product  advertised. 

Where  one  does  not  feel  justified  in  going  to  the  ex- 
pense necessary  to  make  and  circulate  moving-pictures, 
a  fair  substitute  may  be  found  in  the  ordinary  lantern 
slide,  colored  if  possible  and  properly  captioned.  These 
should  be  packed  in  a  substantial  box,  so  constructed  as 
to  prevent  breakage,  and  should  be  consecutively  num- 
bered, when  shown  in  a  series,  so  as  to  be  displayed  in 
their  proper  order.  There  are  many  firms  in  the  United 
States  engaged  in  this  industry,  so  that  it  is  not  difficult 
to  inaugurate  this  style  of  advertising  campaign.  My 
readers  are  warned  against  the  translations  for  titles 
and  captions  usually  made  by  these  concerns.  My  expe- 
rience has  been  that  they  are  nearly  always  unsatisfac- 
tory, and  I  again  bring  to  your  attention  the  fact  that 
these  should  be  prepared  by  a  thoroughly  qualified  in- 
dividual. 

Assuming  that  your  product  warrants  a  moving- 


178  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

picture  campaign,  there  are  two  methods  by  which  this 
may  be  accomplished.  The  first,  and  the  better  one,  is 
by  sending  an  expert  with  an  outfit  to  display  the  pic- 
tures in  the  leading  cinematograph  theaters  of  the 
countries  wherein  the  advertising  is  to  be  done.  Most 
Latin- American  and  other  countries  admit  films  and  the 
machines  used  in  displaying  them  duty  free,  provided 
they  are  declared  at  the  local  customs  house  as  "theatri- 
cal goods"  or  "theatrical  paraphernalia."  If  one  at- 
tempts to  take  them  into  the  land  as  personal  baggage, 
trouble  is  certain  to  develop. 

On  arriving  at  a  city,  little  difftculty  will  be  expe- 
rienced by  a  person  of  ordinary  tact  in  getting  the 
proprietors  of  the  picture-houses  to  allow  the  film  to  be 
run.  Free  complimentary  reading  notices  in  the  local 
press  may  easily  be  obtained,  through  the  simple  ex- 
pedient of  giving  passes  to  the  staff  of  the  paper.  In 
this  connection  it  is  well  to  consult  with  and  follow  the 
advice  of  the  owner  of  the  house  where  the  display  is  to 
be  made. 

This  method  has  been  found  universally  valuable  by 
all  who  have  tried  it.  One  large  hotel  in  New  York 
City  keeps  two  machines  with  their  attendants  con- 
tinually traveling  throughout  Latin-America,  and  the 
results  have  filled  the  hostelry  with  foreign  guests.  It  is 
now  the  intention  of  this  hospice  to  send  similar  dis- 
plays to  Asia,  Africa,  Australia  and  Europe.  In  South 
and  Central  America  all  the  larger  villages  and  towns, 
as  well  as  the  metropolitan  cities,  have  been  visited.  In 
localities  without  moving-picture  palaces,  halls  are 
rented  and  free  exhibitions  given,  care  being  taken  to 
see  that  the  better  families  are  provided  with  special 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  179 

invitations,  for  it  is  from  this  class  of  the  population 
that  the  hotel  expects  to  obtain  its  patrons. 

As  may  be  surmised,  the  films  are  designed  particu- 
larly to  excite  interest  in  the  hotel  and  secondarily  to 
boost  everything  American,  so  that  in  a  broad  sense  it 
is,  in  reality,  an  educational  campaign  for  those  fortu- 
nate enough  to  witness  the  exhibitions.  The  films  show 
an  ocean  voyage,  passing  through  the  Panama  Canal, 
the  arrival  at  quarantine,  the  medical  examination, 
with  notes  telling  why  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  examines  every  foreigner  arriving  in  the  country. 
The  trip  up  the  harbor  is  thrown  on  the  screen,  the  big 
buildings  are  shown,  with  specific  notes  concerning 
them.  As  trunks  are  sent  ashore  and  the  customs  offi- 
cials begin  the  examination  of  the  baggage,  the  porters 
and  interpreters  from  this  hotel  aid  the  guests  in  has- 
tening the  work  and  placing  their  belongings  in  taxi- 
cabs.  The  ride  to  the  hotel  is  then  begun,  and  street 
life  in  New  York  is  vividly  displayed.  The  next  film 
shows  a  plan  of  New  York  City,  bringing  out  the  all- 
important  fact  that  this  particular  hotel  is  close  to  all 
prominent  places,  theaters,  stores  and  business  houses. 
The  elevated  trains  are  shown  passing  the  door,  the 
subway  beneath  the  building,  and  the  surface  cars  in 
front  of  the  hostelry.  Views  of  the  outside  of  the 
edifice  are  shown,  with  details  of  the  lobbies,  offices, 
reception-rooms,  interpreters,  porters,  assistants,  bell- 
boys, bedrooms,  suites  and  baths,  the  cooks,  cuisine,  cold 
storage,  waiters  and  dining-rooms.  Prices  of  the  rooms 
are  given,  with  captions  and  specific  facts  regarding 
each  picture  shown.  Other  reels  show  the  wonders  of 
the  United  States,  our  cotton  fields,  wheat  fields,  or- 
chards, cattle  ranches,  mines,  factories,  rolling-mills,  our 


180  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

great  rivers  and  lakes,  trains,  navy  and  army.  In  other 
words,  everything  is  done  to  impress  the  audience  with 
the  vastness  and  the  richness  of  our  country  and  our 
great  desire  to  have  the  rest  of  the  world  know  us  more 
intimately. 

The  result  has  been  far  more  successful  than  was 
anticipated.  Not  only  has  the  hotel  been  crowded  with 
Latin-American  business  men  and  their  families,  but 
there  has  also  been  a  large  clientele  developed  among 
the  wealthiest  families  who  formerly  went  to  Europe 
for  the  season.  In  addition,  other  foreigners  have  been 
attracted  to  the  place,  and  its  overseas  patronage  is 
growing.  Every  guest  leaving  this  hotel  becomes  a 
radiating  center  of  infection  among  his  friends  and 
those  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact,  for  he  innoculates 
them  with  the  "see  America  first"  germ.  Furthermore, 
much  trade  has  been  directly  and  indirectly  developed 
through  visiting  merchants  and  others  who  were  im- 
pressed by  what  they  saw  and  our  manner  of  manufac- 
turing goods. 

Such  an  advertising  campaign  might  advantageously 
be  undertaken  by  some  of  our  chambers  of  commerce  or 
by  other  business  organizations,  the  incidental  expenses 
being  proportionately  borne  by  the  members  thereof, 
provided  the  things  which  they  manufactured  were 
given  space  on  the  reels. 

Where  it  is  not  possible  to  send  one's  own  operator, 
as  above  outlined,  much  detailed  and  tiring  correspond- 
ence will  be  required.  From  American  consuls  abroad 
may  be  obtained  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  best 
moving-picture  houses  in  their  districts.  Upon  obtain- 
ing this  information,  letters  should  be  written  offering 
to  send  the  films  express  prepaid,  if  the  proprietor  will 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  181 

agree  to  exhibit  them  for  a  definite  period  and  forward 
them  afterward  to  their  next  destination.  Accompany- 
ing this  letter  should  be  a  complete  synopsis  of  the  reel, 
with  a  few  half-tone  pictures  to  give  an  idea  of  its  con- 
tents. Owing  to  the  great  scarcity  of  films  and  the  high 
prices  charged  for  them  in  foreign  countries,  one  will 
find  "movie"  men  all  over  the  world  anxious  to  exhibit 
the  reels,  regardless  of  the  commercial  phase  which  is 
involved. 

Of  course,  suitable  posters,  hangers,  banners  and  the 
usual  line  of  announcements  in  the  language  of  the 
country  should  be  sent  to  each  show-house  when  the 
reels  are  shipped,  care  being  taken  to  send  this  material 
in  strong  packages  and  by  registered  mail,  in  order  to 
insure  delivery.  The  theater  manager  will  see  that  they 
are  used  to  the  best  advantage. 

Perhaps  no  more  positive  proof  of  the  value  of  the 
moving-picture  as  a  business-getter  could  be  given  than 
that  of  a  prominent  American  corset  house.  As  is  well 
recognized,  all  the  world,  and  especially  Latin-America, 
has  always  looked  to  France  for  styles,  particularly 
those  intended  for  women's  wear.  As  a  result  of  this 
attitude,  French  corsets  are  worn  almost  exclusively  in 
South  and  Central  America.  The  American  manufac- 
turer of  an  excellent  and  very  high-grade  corset  desired 
to  make  an  effort  to  secure  a  portion  of  this  profitable 
trade  for  his  line,  which  was  highly  appreciated  and 
extensively  used  by  w^omen  in  the  United  States.  With 
that  object  in  vievr,  several  stores  were  opened  in  the 
capitals  of  the  more  important  countries  to  the  south 
of  our  border.  The  furnishings,  trimmings  and  decora- 
tion in  each  shop  were  of  the  latest  models,  highly 
artistic  and  the  very  best  that  money  could  buy.    Each 


182  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

store  was  managed  by  an  American  woman  familiar 
with  the  good  points  of  the  corset,  able  to  speak  both 
French  and  Spanish,  and  assisted  by  a  competent  staff. 
The  virtues  of  the  product  were  announced  appropri- 
ately and  with  illustrations  in  the  local  press  and  the 
leading  weeklies.  Despite  all  this,  relatively  few  sales 
were  made. 

The  president  of  the  company  was  about  to  abandon 
the  project  when  I  suggested  the  advisability  of  a 
moving-picture  campaign  in  conjunction  with  the  adver- 
tising already  undertaken.  A  series  of  films  were 
planned  showing  the  growing  cotton,  its  picking,  ne- 
groes dancing,  cotton  being  ginned  and  baled,  then 
shipped  via  steamer  and  train  to  New  England,  where 
it  went  through  the  great  cotton  mills  and  became  con- 
verted into  wearing  material.  These  mills,  with  the 
various  stages  necessary  to  produce  cotton  goods,  were 
shown  in  great  detail.  In  the  same  manner  the  metal 
used  in  the  corset  was  shown  in  the  process  of  fabrica- 
tion, from  the  time  it  left  the  mine  as  ore  until  it  was 
ready  for  use.  Next  came  the  corset  factory  and  the 
homes  of  the  employes.  The  workers  were  shown  coming 
to  work,  at  play,  on  their  annual  picnic,  in  their  rest 
rooms,  with  attendant  nurses  and  physicians,  and 
finally  engaged  in  consuming  the  liberal  luncheon 
provided  by  the  firm  for  its  help.  The  complete  manu- 
facture of  the  various  forms  of  silk  and  cotton  corsets 
was  shown,  the  merits  of  each  style  being  gone  into 
thoroughly  in  the  caption. 

Finally,  well-proportioned  ladies  of  all  ages  and 
figures,  from  slender  to  stout,  were  depicted  in  colors 
discarding  with  disgust  other  types  of  corsets  and 
putting  on  with  the  greatest  ease  the  advertised  article. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  183 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  most  women  of  Spanish  descent 
acquire  avoirdupois  rapidly,  a  special  feature  was  made 
of  a  fat  woman  doing  all  manner  of  gymnastic  exercises 
while  wearing  these  corsets.  This  proved  a  decided  hit 
and,  as  far  as  it  was  possible  to  trace  results,  did  the 
most  to  increase  and  stimulate  the  sale  of  these  articles. 
As  a  consequence,  this  brand  of  wearing  apparel  now 
enjoys  a  growing  popularity  among  the  fair  sex  of 
Latin-America.  A  market  has  been  created  for  it  by 
means  of  the  moving-picture. 

By  the  exercise  of  common  sense  and  a  modicum  of 
ingenuity  any  article  made  in  the  United  States  can  be 
advertised  successfully  on  the  moving-picture  screen. 
European  countries  think  so  well  of  this  method  of  ad- 
vertising goods  that  several  of  the  schools  of  commerce 
announce  in  their  catalogues  that  instruction  in  moving- 
picture  propaganda  will  be  given.  The  prospectus  of 
the  Berlin  Commercial  High  School  for  1918-19  is  the 
latest  educational  institution  requiring  students  to 
include  this  topic  in  their  course  of  study. 

This  method  of  advertising  abroad  might  be  taken  up 
appropriately  and  with  but  little  additional  expense 
by  our  advertising  agencies. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

A  house-to-house  distribution  campaign  in  Latin-American  countries 
as  a  rule  brings  prompt  results,  provided  it  is  conducted  in  the  proper 
manner.    Much  money  can  be  wasted  otherwise. 

HOUSE-TO-HOUSE  distribution  of  advertising 
material  is  one  of  the  best  methods  by  which 
to  introduce  a  new  article  into  Latin-America. 
Unfortunately,  there  are  many  barriers  and  obstacles 
to  be  overcome  in  order  to  get  the  right  results  and  to 
do  the  work  properly. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Latin-American  laboring  man, 
or  peon,  cannot  possibly  be  trusted  to  give  out  cards, 
pamphlets  or  other  literature  without  the  direct  super- 
vision of  a  responsible  individual.  If  left  alone  to  do 
this  work,  he  will  either  throw  the  contents  of  his  pouch 
in  some  convenient  gully  or  concealed  comer,  or  give 
handfuls  of  the  articles  to  pedestrians  or  passers-by — a 
condition  almost  forced  upon  him  by  the  aristocratic 
Latin-Americans  in  the  street  who  always  insist  upon 
being  "given  just  another  one  for  an  intimate  friend." 
If  this  request  comes  from  one  higher  in  the  social  scale 
than  the  one  giving  out  the  announcements,  it  is  tanta- 
mount to  a  command  which  no  peon  or  person  of  the 
lawer  classes  would  think  of  ignoring.  I  have  fre- 
quently seen  individuals  of  this  class  stop  men  engaged 
in  street  distribution,  place  their  hands  in  the  sack  con- 
taining the  propaganda,  and  help  themselves  most 
liberally.  If  the  material  was  not  found  interesting  or 
entertaining,  it  would  be  immediately  thrown  into  the 

184 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  185 

street.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the  native  meets  one 
of  his  own  class  he  is  apt  to  have  an  acute  and  grandiose 
attack  of  liberality  and  force  upon  his  illiterate  and 
financially  embarrassed  amigo  or  compadre  an  enor- 
mous donation  of  material,  thus  wasting  it  on  an  in- 
dividual who  cannot  by  any  possibility  prove  of  benefit 
to  the  advertiser. 

In  order  to  attain  success  it  is  therefore  absolutely 
necessaiy  that  the  native  distributors  be  accompanied 
by  a  responsible  overseer,  who  should  be  familiar  with 
the  language  and  suflflciently  diplomatic  to  prevent  the 
wasting  of  material.  Nobody  can  equal  an  American 
for  this  work.  I  have  always  found  it  best  to  have  two 
men  work  together  under  the  personal  direction  of  a 
supervisor,  one  distributor  operating  on  one  side  and 
the  other  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street.  Time  will 
be  saved  by  going  the  entire  length  of  the  street  and 
returning  along  the  next  parallel  street.  After  thus 
working  all  the  streets  running  north  and  south,  the 
same  method  should  be  observed  with  the  streets  run- 
ning at  right  angles  to  those  previously  visited.  The 
distributors  should  be  provided  with  canvas  or  duck 
bags  to  be  suspended  from  their  shoulders  by  straps, 
and  these  should  be  large  enough  to  contain  a  quantity 
of  whatever  is  to  be  distributed.  In  the  more  important 
towns,  in  order  to  save  time,  it  will  be  found  advisable 
to  rent  a  horse  and  cart  to  accompany  the  men  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  the  material,  so  that  supplies  for 
the  bags  may  be  quickly  replenished.  By  this  method 
thousands  of  books  or  merchandise  samples  can  be 
cheaply  circulated  during  working  hours. 

Distributors  should  be  obliged  to  place  the  article 
given  out  under  the  doors  or  else  to  throw  them  in  the 


186  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

windows  of  houses,  thus  insuring  that  they  reach  their 
objective.  This  can  readily  be  accomplished  in  Latin- 
American  lands,  owing  to  the  construction  of  habita- 
tions. They  should  also  be  instructed  to  give  any  lady  or 
gentleman  whom  they  meet  on  the  street  only  one  of  the 
articles  being  given  away,  and  to  respectfully  refer  those 
making  insistent  demands  for  more  to  the  captain  of 
the  party.  When  asked  for  samples  or  booklets  by  the 
lower  classes  of  the  population,  they  should  be  in- 
structed to  say,  "Certainly,  if  you  can  read,"  at  the  same 
time  asking  the  applicant  to  read  a  few  lines  from  the 
text.  If  these  simple  suggestions  are  followed,  one  will 
come  near  reaching  one  hundred  per  cent,  efficiency  in 
this  class  of  work. 

The  large  patent  medicine  houses  find  this  method  of 
circulating  their  booklets  so  productive  of  good  results 
that  they  frequently  maintain  a  regular  force  of  trained 
men  for  such  work,  having  them  tour  a  country  or  a 
group  of  countries  under  the  control  of  a  manager.  In 
order  to  keep  these  teams  continually  engaged,  regular 
routes  are  made  for  them  and  goods  for  their  use  shipped 
ahead  to  the  local  druggist,  with  requests  to  pay  duties 
and  drayage,  as  well  as  all  other  charges,  for  which 
they  will  be  compensated  on  the  arrival  of  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  house  at  an  approximate  date.  The 
mention  of  the  date  when  the  representative  is  expected 
to  arrive  will  often  cause  the  local  druggist  to  have  a 
notice  printed  in  the  town  paper  relative  to  the  proposed 
visit,  as  a  result  of  which  many  natives  will  be  awaiting 
the  arrival  of  the  visitor  to  seek  first-hand  information 
regarding  the  properties  of  the  remedy.  The  prompt, 
in  fact,  almost  immediate  response  to  such  work,  when 
properly  done,  is  remarkable  and  it  usually  results  in 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  187 

the  agent  securing  a  large  order  for  immediate  delivery. 
In  view  of  this  condition,  it  is  always  wise  when  first 
visiting  a  town  to  include  a  small  trial  order  with  the 
advertising  material,  so  that  demands  for  goods  may 
at  once  be  filled. 

These  distributors  can  also  be  satisfactorily  used 
for  posting  the  town,  as  well  as  for  giving  out  other 
appropriate  announcements  to  the  trade.  A  part  of 
their  work  should  be  to  arrange  when  possible  window 
displays,  which  are  always  a  source  of  interest  to  the 
natives  and  serve  excellent  advertising  purposes. 

The  personnel  of  such  a  team,  being  composed  chiefly 
of  peons,  can  travel  third-class  on  ships  and  trains,  and 
w  hen  in  towns  or  cities  they  are  content  to  stop  at  cheap 
boarding  houses,  or  posadas.  As  compared  with  the 
valuable  and  efficient  work  a  properly  managed  troup  of 
this  kind  can  accomplish,  the  cost  of  maintaining  them 
is  relatively  very  small.  I  have  known  one  team  to  work 
in  a  year  the  more  important  cities  in  Cuba,  Santo 
Domingo,  Porto  Rico,  Venezuela,  Colombia,  the  Central 
American  Republics,  Panama,  Ecuador,  Peru,  Bolivia, 
and  Chile,  returning  via  Uruguay,  the  Argentine  and 
Brazil,  as  a  result  of  which  a  most  profitable  business 
was  established.  Of  course,  such  a  trip  must  be  planned 
with  care  and  by  one  familiar  in  detail  with  the  entire 
territory.  Shipments  of  goods  must  be  made  months 
in  advance,  so  that  there  will  be  no  delays  en  route. 
As  the  distributors  establish  a  reputation  for  work  and 
faithfulness,  as  many  of  them  will,  they  may  be  dis- 
patched with  advertising  materials  to  nearby  villages 
and  towns,  while  the  American  manager  of  the  crew 
works  the  larger  cities  with  newly  recruited  help.    In 


188  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

this  manner  a  given  territory  can  be  quickly  and  eco- 
nomically covered. 

Of  course,  house-to-house  distribution  can  only  be 
used  with  success  for  certain  lines  of  goods.  This  is  a 
problem  which  must  be  solved  by  the  advertising  man- 
ager. As  a  general  rule,  it  may  be  said  that  any  article 
which  may  be  introduced  by  this  method  in  the  United 
States  will  meet  with  the  same  results  throughout 
Latin-America. 

Distributors  under  no  circumstances  should  pass  a 
school  or  priest's  house  without  entering  the  same  and 
leaving  a  liberal  supply  of  advertising  material  with 
the  teacher  or  pastor.  Courtesy  demands  that  permis^ 
sion  first  be  obtained  to  leave  whatever  is  being  given 
away.  Latin-Americans  of  all  classes  are  sticklers  for 
the  observance  of  the  rules  of  etiquette.  If  properly  ap- 
proached, the  teacher  will  often  suspend  school  and 
make  an  address  to  the  scholars  commending  the 
preparation  or  article  thus  advertised.  The  eloquence 
of  the  speaker  may  be  made  more  effective  by  the  pre- 
sentation of  a  sample  of  the  goods  being  introduced. 

Few  Americans  realize  or  appreciate  the  vast  in- 
fluence exercised  by  the  Latin-American  priest  over  his 
parishioners.  He  rules  with  a  rod  of  iron  and  is  looked 
upon  by  the  masses  as  a  supernatural  being.  His  word 
is  law.  I  have  always  found  him  a  good  companion, 
willing  to  lend  every  aid  to  the  traveler  who  crosses 
his  path.  He  will  welcome  you  to  his  home  with  a 
sincerity  that  impresses  you,  and  let  me  suggest  the 
advisability  of  stopping  with  him,  when  asked  to  do  so, 
especially  in  the  small  towns,  for  you  will  be  sure  of 
the  best  accommodations  and  the  best  fare  that  the  place 
affords.    Of  his  own  volition  he  will  often  offer  to  give 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  189 

the  members  of  his  flock  any  advertising  material  one 
may  care  to  intrust  to  him.  Holy  pictures  are  always 
highly  appreciated  and  distributed  with  discernment.  It 
always  pays  to  give  him  a  liberal  supply  of  the  article 
advertised,  for  he  will  generally  place  it  where  it  will  do 
your  house  the  greatest  good.  I  have  known  a  priest 
to  stop  in  the  middle  of  a  sermon,  point  an  authoritative 
finger  at  a  worshiper  who  was  coughing,  and  say, 
"When  mass  is  over  stop  at  Blanco's  drug-store  and  buy 
a  bottle  of  Father  John's  Medicine.  It  will  positively 
cure  you  and  others  similarly  troubled."  Could  one  ask 
a  better  advertisement  from  a  more  authentic  source? 

And  right  here  let  me  suggest  the  advisability  of 
taking  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  teachers  and 
preachers  one  meets  in  his  travels.  These  should  be  sent 
to  the  home  office,  with  the  idea  that  from  time  to  time 
new  advertising  material  may  be  sent  them.  It  is  wise, 
also,  to  ship  them  occasionally  a  few  sample  packages 
of  the  goods  you  sell,  and  one  may  rely  upon  them 
rendering  efficient  service  for  being  thus  remembered. 
Their  names  should  also  be  added  to  the  firm's  mailing 
lista. 


CHAPTER  XX 

The  concwrao,  or  guessing-contest,  never  fails  to  attract  attention 
and  develop  interest  in  any  advertising  campaign,  yet  few  North  Ameri- 
cans have  taken  advantage  of  the  really  great  opportunity  this  method 
of  interesting  the  Latin-American  buying  public  affords. 

NOTHING  in  connection  with  an  advertising 
campaign  appeals  more  strongly  to  the  Latin- 
American  public  than  the  popular  concurso, 
or  what  might  be  called  in  this  country  a  "chance 
game."  Whenever  a  concurso  which  is  unique  and 
original  in  its  plan  is  presented,  it  brings  a  favorable 
reception  for  the  article  thus  advertised.  This  is  also 
true  of  the  Asiatic  and  African  people,  as  well  as  the 
inhabitants  of  Spain,  Portugal,  Italy,  Greece,  and 
Turkey.  American  ingenuity  should  have  no  trouble 
in  devising  many  timely  and  appropriate  advertising 
plans  of  this  nature,  and  I  recommend  that  no  extensive 
advertising  campaign  in  any  of  these  lands  be  under- 
taken unless  they  include  a  concurso. 

The  majority  of  cigarettes,  many  medicines,  and 
practically  all  the  tonics  and  liquors  now  so  much  used 
in  Latin-America  owe  their  popularity  to  this  method 
of  introduction. 

A  cigarette  in  high  favor  with  the  masses  of  Argen- 
tine, Uruguay  and  Chile  is  known  as  "43."  Its  trade- 
mark is  simply  the  numbers  four  and  three  in  a  circle 
(43).  In  less  than  a  year  it  was  introduced  into  the 
above  named  republics  and  made  a  leading  seller  by 
appealing  to  the  populace  with  a  relatively  small  cam- 

190 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  191 

paign  in  the  leading  periodicals  and  a  large  one  in  freak 
advertising.  Each  scheme  employed  was  so  unusual 
that  in  a  short  time  the  query  put  to  everybody — in 
street,  office,  cars,  schools,  homes,  and  even  in  the  mon- 
asteries— was,  "I  wonder  what  method  of  advertising 
(43)  cigarettes  will  next  adopt?"  Let  me  give  some 
illustrations.  Eating-house  cafes,  dining-rooms,  res- 
taurants and  boarding-houses  were  all  supplied  with 
noodles  made  in  the  (43)  shape  for  use  in  soups  and 
broths.  This,  of  course,  started  conversation  between 
diners.  Cigar-stores,  restaurants,  cafes  and  offices  were 
visited  by  representatives  of  the  company  and  asked  to 
be  allowed  to  paper  the  walls,  proprietors  being  re- 
quested to  select  the  color  of  the  paper  they  preferred 
from  a  large  series  of  designs,  each  one  of  which  had  con- 
spicuously, but  not  inartistically,  displayed  the  haunt- 
ing number  (43).  Songs  were  written  and  sung  in 
music-halls  and  on  the  vaudeville  stage,  the  chorus  of 
which  invariably  terminated  with  the  words  cuarenta- 
tres — cuarentatres,  or  43 — 43.  All  packages  contain- 
ing the  cigarettes  had  picture-cards  showing  flags  of 
all  the  nations,  pictures  of  prominent  people,  and  the 
like.  As  soon  as  a  person  completed  the  set,  he  received 
one  hundred  packages  of  (43)  cigarettes  as  a  compli- 
ment. This  of  course  led  to  persons  comparing  their 
sets  and  trading  cards  with  each  other,  the  conversation 
meantime  always  dealing  with  (43)  cigarettes. 

The  roads  of  Latin-America  are  naturally  bad,  and 
in  most  countries  trails  exist  which  are  negotiable  only 
for  a  sure-footed  mule.  Of  all  these  bridle-paths,  none 
are  more  hazardous  than  the  one  leading  from  Buenos 
Aires,  the  capital  of  the  Argentine,  to  Santiago,  the 
capital  of  Chile.    The  traveler  who  made  this  tiresome 


192  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

and  dangerous  journey  over  the  snow-clad  cumhre  by 
mule  was  always  looked  upon  by  his  friends  as  a  hero. 
No  one  had  ever  dreamed  of  taking  the  trip  by  auto- 
mobile. Such  an  experience,  in  the  eyes  of  the  native, 
was  considered  more  or  less  impossible  and  comparable 
to  going  to  the  North  Pole.  The  owners  of  (43)  ciga- 
rettes decided  to  have  the  trip  made.  The  idea  was  given 
due  publicity  by  all  the  papers  and  resulted  in  many 
letters  of  caution  and  advice.  To  each  writer  of  such 
missives  a  letter  of  thanks  and  a  package  of  cigarettes 
were  sent.  Excerpts  from  the  correspondence,  with  the 
names  and  addresses  of  the  senders,  were  published — 
something  especially  pleasing  to  Latin- American  vanity. 
Automobile  companies  competed  with  each  other  to  have 
their  machines  make  the  trip.  A  committee  of  promi- 
nent men  was  selected  to  pick  the  car  which  in  their 
judgment  was  best  adapted  for  attempting  the  journey. 
More  publicity  was  thus  obtained.  The  car  having  been 
decided  upon,  it  was  painted  a  brilliant  red,  and  in  a 
white  circle  on  its  sides  and  ends  appeared  in  huge 
black  numerals  the  figures  (43).  This  car  was  dis- 
played in  leading  windows  and  paraded  through  the 
principal  thoroughfares  for  a  week,  with  notices  an- 
nouncing a  prize  of  |1000  to  the  one  guessing  the  exact 
time  of  the  trip,  |500  to  the  second  nearest  guesser,  and 
|250  to  the  third,  each  person  to  be  allowed  as 
many  guesses  as  they  desired  before  the  car  started  its 
journey,  provided,  of  course,  that  an  empty  (43) 
cigarette  box  accompanied  the  guess.  The  chauffeur 
who  drove  the  car  through  the  city  was  always  dressed 
to  represent  Satan  in  tights  of  flaming  red,  with  the 
conventional  horns  and  long,  spiked  tail.    On  his  chest 


More  wasted  money.  The  advertisement  is  for  the  "43"  cigarette.  The 
ragged  woman  is  pawning  her  underclothes  with  the  old  pawnbroker.  In  this 
country  such  an  advertisement  would  hinder,  instead  of  create,  a  demand  for 
the  cigarette   it  advertises. 


Pierrot.— Mi  ideal  son  los :  Cuellos  Corona. 

J^.p'^nte  General:    J.    A^    B  ALA-RI 

"  VA-LPARA-ieO  Casilla    1359 


The  result  of  permitting  a  local  agent  to  write  copy.  This  is  a  collar 
advertisement,  and  one  has  to  stretch  his  imagination  to  think  of  a  man 
on  the  roof  of  a  house  in  pajamas  selling  collars  to  the  moon.  Evidently 
there  are  some  copy-writers  in  I^atin-Ainerica  who  belong  in  insane  asylums. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  193 

and  on  his  back  in  a  white  circle  appeared  the  irresist- 
ible numerals  (43). 

The  day  for  the  departure  of  the  car  arrived.  The 
mayor  of  Buenos  Aires  made  a  speech  wishing  the 
Santanic  driver,  the  agent  of  the  company  and  the  two 
press  representatives,  who  completed  the  occupants  of 
the  car,  a  pleasant  journey  and  confided  to  them  a  letter 
to  be  given  the  mayor  of  Santiago.  The  official  time  of 
the  departure  was  announced  in  all  the  papers  of 
Uruguay,  Argentine  and  Chile,  and  guesses  were  in- 
vited from  the  entire  population  of  the  three  republics 
as  to  when  the  car  and  its  occupants  would  reach  the 
various  cities  en  route.  To  those  making  correct  re- 
plies, accompanied  by  an  empty  (43)  cigarette  box, 
fifty  boxes  of  cigarettes  were  given.  The  press  men 
wired  the  time  of  arrival  and  departure  to  the  papers 
in  the  different  countries.  Committees  met  the  way- 
farers outside  of  cities,  accompanied  them  to  their  hotel, 
banqueted  them,  and  went  with  them  for  a  few  kilo- 
meters on  their  departure — all  of  which  was  heralded 
by  the  periodicals. 

The  progress  of  these  adventurers  was  watched  by 
practically  the  entire  population  of  the  three  nations. 
Bulletins  posted  in  front  of  newspaper  officers  and  cigar 
stores  kept  people  advised  of  their  progress.  Never  was 
a  more  exciting  or  popular  advertising  campaign  than 
this  conducted  in  Latin-America.  I  have  given  much 
of  it  in  detail  to  illustrate  how  propaganda  of  this  type 
should  be  done.  A  good  market  was  established  for 
this  brand  of  cigarettes  in  a  short  time  and  at  a  mini- 
mum of  expense.  Needless  to  say,  this  entire  campaign 
was  planned  by  an  American  who  had  lived  many  years 


194  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

in  Latin-America,  spoke  the  language  well,  and  knew 
the  people  intimately. 

Another  popular  form  of  concurso  is  to  have  a  pile 
of  beans,  or  a  large  glass  container  full  of  the  same, 
displayed  in  a  prominent  window,  the  public  being 
allowed  as  many  guesses  as  they  want,  each  one,  of 
course,  being  accompanied  by  a  coupon  with  the  name 
and  address  of  the  guesser.  Prizes  in  money  or  useful 
articles  reward  the  lucky  one.  A  large  bakery  in  one 
of  the  big  South  American  cities  has  made  its  bread 
famous  by  displaying  a  glass  globe  filled  with  flour  and 
inviting  guesses  as  to  the  weight  of  its  contents,  each 
participant  being  obliged  to  give  the  tag  from  a  loaf 
for  the  privilege  of  submitting  an  estimate. 

A  well-known  brand  of  tooth  paste  and  toilet  soap 
made  in  New  Jersey  has  relied  exclusively  on  introduc- 
ing its  preparations  into  Latin-America  by  the  coupon 
system  such  as  is  now  in  use  in  a  chain  of  cigar  stores 
in  the  United  States.  Every  package  of  tooth  paste, 
toilet  powder,  shaving  soap  and  toilet  soap  sold  in  Latin- 
America  contains  a  coupon  and  a  premium  list  showing 
the  value  in  coupons  of  each  article.  The  list  of 
premiums  includes  watches,  toilet  sets,  cheap  jewelry 
for  men  and  women,  cigarette  holders,  and  the  like. 
More  practical  goods,  such  as  household  articles,  are  not 
offered  for  the  reason  that  they  do  not  appeal  to  the 
natives  and  are  diflftcult  of  transportation.  The  success 
of  such  a  venture  depends  in  great  measure  on  the  class 
of  articles  selected  for  premiums,  and  such  a  list  should 
be  compiled  only  after  careful  consultation  with  persons 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  tastes  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  American  concern  using  this  plan  for  developing 
its  South  and  Central  American  trade  would  not  dare 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  195 

undertake  such  a  campaign  in  this  country,  but  some 
idea  of  its  popularity  in  the  Latin  republics  may  be 
gained  when  I  state  that  on  my  last  trip  from  Venezuela 
forty-eight  bags  of  mail  containing  coupons  were  sent 
to  this  company  for  redemption  and  the  ship's  mail- 
clerk  told  me  that  as  a  rule  he  had  a  larger  corre- 
spondence for  this  firm. 

One  of  the  best  known  and  most  intelligently  handled 
concurso  campaigns  was  put  on  by  a  well-known  baking 
company  in  Buenos  Aires.  Not  only  did  it  create  a 
lasting  demand  for  its  products,  but  it  also  sold  many 
shares  of  its  stock  to  the  general  public,  thereby  sub- 
stantially obligating  each  purchaser  of  stock  to  buy  the 
bread  and  cake  prepared  by  the  concern. 

The  method  adopted  was  most  simple  and  at  the  same 
time  entirely  practical.  On  each  cake  or  loaf  of  bread 
sold  there  was  attached  a  label  entitling  the  purchaser 
to  guess  how  many  loaves  of  bread,  how  many  rolls,  or 
how  many  cakes  of  a  specified  type  mentioned  could  be 
manufactured  from  the  contents  of  a  barrel  of  flour 
displayed  in  the  window  of  the  company's  head  office. 
Replies  poured  in  by  the  thousand  and  the  Interest 
created  was  widespread. 

To  the  first  one  hundred  persons  whose  estimate  was 
nearest  to  the  winner  a  share  of  stock  in  the  company 
was  to  be  given,  with  the  option  to  acquire  additional 
stock  at  a  special  rate,  better  than  the  market  price. 
In  the  event  of  more  than  one  contestant  submitting 
correct  replies,  the  capital  prize,  a  very  substantial 
sum,  was  to  be  divided  equally  between  the  winners, 
with  the  same  amount  of  stock  as  a  bonus. 

In  front  of  the  store-windows  displaying  the  prizes 
or  the  materials  entering  into  the  competition  enormous 


196  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

crowds  always  congregate  and  discuss  loudly  and  se- 
riously every  phase  of  the  contest.  Better  results  are 
obtained  if  these  displays  are  made  in  several  localities 
at  the  same  time,  so  as  to  cover  a  greater  area  of  terri- 
tory and  thus  interest  a  larger  proportion  of  the  popu- 
lace. 

In  the  hands  of  an  ingenious  American  advertiser  the 
possibilities  of  such  a  campaign  are  almost  beyond 
conception.  It  possesses  the  great  merit  of  bringing 
returns  promptly  at  relatively  low  expense. 

Games  of  chance,  such  as  were  common  in  the  United 
States  years  ago  and  were  exceptionally  popular  in 
cigar-stores  and  saloons,  could  be  employed  with  great 
benefit  throughout  the  large  and  small  towns  of  every 
Latin-American  country.  I  have  reference  to  what  is 
commonly  known  as  "punch-cards"  or  "punch-boards," 
where  the  article  to  be  disposed  of  is  appropriately  dis- 
played on  a  wooden  cardboard  back  provided  with  a 
series  of  holes,  each  one  of  which  contains  a  number. 
By  paying  a  specified  sum  and  selecting  one  hole  to  be 
punched  out,  a  number  is  disclosed  which  entitles  the 
player  to  a  prize  at  a  very  low  price,  or  else  he  draws  a 
blank.  Any  modification  of  this  method  of  raffling  or 
gambling  is  sure  to  prove  an  efficient  and  appropriate 
method  for  introducing  certain  kinds  of  articles  and  is 
worthy  of  serious  consideration.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  however,  that  relatively  few  things  lend  them- 
selves to  this  special  means  of  attracting  attention. 

Perhaps  no  countries  on  the  face  of  the  earth  respond 
so  quickly  to  the  efforts  of  the  detail  man  as  those  of 
Latin-America,  a  fact  which  the  average  American 
business  man  seems  to  be  entirely  ignorant  of.  I  am  con- 
vinced from  my  experience  in  marketing  goods  in  these 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  19T 

lands  that  this  is  perhaps  the  best  method  to  introduce 
medicines  and  medical  appliances.  Physicians  are 
always  courteous  and  affable,  and  no  matter  how  busy 
they  may  be  or  how  high  their  social  standing,  they 
invariably  have  time  to  give  careful  consideration  and 
a  warm  welcome  to  the  representatives  of  foreign  firms 
who  call  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  something  new 
in  their  line.  The  chances  are,  too,  that  they  will  make 
an  opportunity  among  their  patients  for  the  purpose 
of  demonstrating  the  article  being  introduced.  Physi- 
cians should  always  be  liberally  provided  with  samples, 
and  explicit  instructions  should  be  given  them  in  the 
use  of  the  preparation  or  device.  If  possible,  a  return 
visit  should  be  made  within  a  week  or  ten  days,  for  the 
purpose  of  further  stimulating  their  interest  or  cor- 
recting any  false  ideas  which  may  have  developed 
through  failure  to  properly  interpret  the  preliminary 
instructions. 

The  fact  that  a  large  percentage  of  practitioners  of  the 
healing  art  in  Latin-America  and  many  other  parts  of 
the  world,  such  as  China,  India  and  other  remote  places, 
have  not  had  the  benefit  of  medical  instruction  in  col- 
leges or  have  been  educated  in  inferior  institutions  of 
learning  makes  these  fields  all  the  more  alluring  for 
the  patent  or  proprietary  medicine  concern  and  also 
makes  the  visits  of  the  representative  more  impressive 
and  productive  of  better  results. 

Few  trained  nurses  are  to  be  found  outside  of  the 
Continent,  Australia,  British  Africa,  and  North  Amer- 
ica. The  few  who  have  located  in  Latin-America  are 
looked  upon  with  almost  the  same  high  regard  as  the 
average  physician,  and  they  should  also  be  visited  and 
samples  left  with  them.    Throughout  Central  and  South 


198  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

America  there  is  a  Catholic  order  of  nuns  who  devote 
their  lives  to  the  nursing  of  the  sick  and  leave  their 
convents  for  that  purpose.  The  various  branch  houses 
of  this  order  should  not  be  neglected  and  should  always 
be  liberally  stocked  with  samples. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

The  press  of  Uruguay  analyzed — ^Typical  of  the  average  Latin- 
American  republic. 

THE  general  subject  of  advertising  in  Latin- 
America  is  such  a  complicated  one,  and  every 
statement  made  concerning  it  is  so  subject  to 
numerous  qualifications  and  modifications,  that  it  will 
be  well  to  analyze  in  a  more  detailed  manner  the  situa- 
tion in  one  particular  country.  For  this  purpose  we 
shall  use  Uruguay  for  a  number  of  reasons,  among 
which  are  these:  Uruguay  is  moderate  in  size  and 
practically  all  phases  of  policy  to  be  considered  in  an 
advertising  campaign  are  identical  throughout  the 
country;  its  people  are  of  high  intelligence  and  possess 
one  of  the  highest  standards  of  literacy  of  any  Latin- 
American  country ;  its  national  life  is  largely  dominated 
by  one  city,  Montevideo,  the  capital;  contact  with  the 
outside  world  is  free  and  easy  and  the  members  of  its 
better  classes  are  usually  persons  of  considerable  cul- 
ture and  wide  travel;  it  has  the  many  newspapers  of 
varied  interests  and  small  circulations  so  common  in 
South  America;  and,  finally,  the  pitfalls  into  which  a 
foreign  advertiser  is  in  danger  of  falling  are  present  to 
a  great  degree. 

Uruguay  has  a  population  of  one  and  a  half 
million  people  and  covers  approximately  72,000  square 
miles.  In  respect  to  the  first,  it  compares  with  the  states 
of  Colorado  or  Florida,  while  in  area  it  is  about  equal  to 

199 


200  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Nebraska,  Missouri,  North  Dakota,  Oklahoma  or  Wash- 
ington. Montevideo,  the  capital,  has  a  population  of 
about  500,000  and  is  one  of  the  world's  most  beautiful 
and  cosmopolitan  cities.  Its  streets,  public  buildings, 
port  facilities,  schools,  art  museums,  clubs  and  stores 
deserve  to  rank  with  those  of  any  Latin  city,  and  the 
general  standard  of  intelligence  is  remarkably  high. 
Next  to  the  capital,  which  dominates  the  country's  intel- 
lectual, business  and  civil  life,  are  two  cities  of  about 
25,000  inhabitants  each,  and  five  other  cities  with  an 
average  population  of  about  12,000. 

The  newspapers  of  Montevideo  are  numerous,  diverse 
in  interest  and  appeal,  small  in  circulation,  directed  to 
particular  groups  of  readers  to  the  almost  complete  ex- 
clusion of  other  classes  and  of  very  different  value  as 
advertising  mediums  for  various  products.  There  are 
two  outstanding  political  parties  in  the  country:  the 
conservatives,  who  comprise  the  wealthier,  landholding, 
old-family  category,  and  the  radicals,  who  direct  their 
appeal  to  the  small  peasants  and  the  workingmen. 
The  radicals,  however,  are  split  into  a  number  of  groups, 
each  of  which  persistently  opposes  the  other  factions, 
and  nearly  all  of  them  have  publications  of  some  sort 
or  other  to  speak  for  them.  There  is  an  inter-party 
warfare  continually  going  on  within  the  ranks  of  the 
radicals  which  supplies  plenty  of  literary  ammunition 
to  their  various  newspapers,  the  result  being  a  rather 
inflammatory  type  of  publication.  Many  of  the  news- 
papers of  the  country,  like  most  newspapers  through- 
out South  America,  were  launched  for  the  express 
purpose  of  furthering  the  political  ambitions  of  some 
leader  or  group,  although  in  a  few  cases  they  have  been 
sufficiently  ably  managed  to  create  and  maintain  a  place 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  201 

for  themselves  after  the  particular  individual  or  occa- 
sion which  called  them  into  being  had  passed. 

The  paper  which  comes  nearest  to  reaching  the  va- 
rious groups  of  all  parties  with  any  buying  power  worth 
mentioning  is  "El  Diario  del  Plata."  This  is  one  of 
Montevideo's  leading  newspapers  and  although  pub- 
lished in  the  interest  of  the  conservative  element  among 
the  radical  factions,  it  is  widely  read  by  the  genuine 
conservatives,  thus  covering  the  more  prudent  of  all 
classes  and  the  people  who  are  more  likely  to  want  and 
be  able  to  buy  articles  for  the  improvement  of  them- 
selves, their  families  and  their  homes.  It  is  a  morning 
paper,  published  every  day  except  Monday,  seven 
columns,  24  inches  by  17i^  inches.  Advertising  rates 
are  given  for  ordinary  issues  as  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  per  page,  with  a  slightly  increased  pro-rata 
charge  for  smaller  insertions,  and  the  circulation 
claimed  for  it  is  fifteen  thousand. 

In  connection  with  the  matter  of  rates,  the  reader  is 
cautioned  to  remember  a  previous  chapter  which  de- 
scribed the  inaccuracy  of  most  South  American  rate- 
cards  and  the  almost  universal  habit  of  dickering  and 
bargaining  before  contracts  for  advertising  space  are 
signed.  In  practically  every  case  it  will  be  found  that 
the  rates  given  by  publishers  are  only  meant  to  be 
tentative  and  that  good  bargainers  can  easily  secure 
large  discounts  from  those  originally  asked.  This  is 
one  of  the  difficulties  which  advertisers  in  Latin- 
America  must  expect  to  face  for  many  years.  It  is  no 
worse  than  the  situation  that  existed  in  the  United 
States  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago  and  will  be  eliminated 
in  due  time.  It  is  also  the  principal  reason  why  those 
firms  having  capable  representatives  on  the  ground  to 


202  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

place  their  advertising  succeed  in  getting  so  much  better 
positions  at  more  favorable  rates  than  do  those  adver- 
tisers who  attempt  to  do  business  entirely  by  corre- 
spondence or  by  transacting  their  affairs  with  local 
advertising  agents  who,  two  times  out  of  three,  are  more 
or  less  in  league  with  the  publishers  to  mulct  the  for- 
eigner. 

There  is  an  evening  paper  called  "El  Plata/'  pub- 
lished by  the  same  owners  as  the  first-mentioned  paper. 
It  is  claimed  to  have  a  circulation  of  twenty  thousand 
copies  and  goes  largely  to  the  same  class  of  people 
described  above.  Its  advertising  rate  is  given  as  two 
hundred  dollars  per  page  and  it  is,  in  all  probability, 
the  best  advertising  medium  in  the  country. 

"El  Dia"  probably  comes  next  in  desirability  as  an 
advertising  sheet.  It  prints  both  morning  and  eve- 
ning editions  and  is  the  officially  recognized  organ  of 
the  more  radical  labor  groups.  The  circulation  of  the 
morning  edition  is  around  forty  thousand,  easily  the 
largest  in  Uruguay,  while  the  evening  edition  runs  to 
about  eight  thousand  copies.  Because  of  the  difficulty 
which  this  paper  has  experienced  in  securing  adequate 
supplies  of  print  paper,  a  difficulty  which  is  by  no  means 
limited  to  this  particular  publication,  the  paper  has 
been  loth  to  sell  advertising  space  in  large  amounts  and, 
in  consequence,  has  put  its  rate  up  to  an  almost 
prohibitive  figure.  The  above  situation  existed  through 
most  of  1920,  but  with  the  improved  supply  of  print 
paper  now  available  in  all  markets  it  should  be  possible 
in  1921  and  thereafter  to  do  business  on  a  normal  basis 
with  this  publication. 

A  paper  which  is  perhaps  more  advanced  than  any 
other  in  many  ways  is  "La  Manana,"  which  was  started 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  203 

as  an  organ  for  one  of  the  various  conservatire  groups 
among  the  radical  party,  but  which  has  established 
itself  solidly  in  the  confidence  of  the  people  and  is 
recognized  as  one  of  Uruguay's  leading  newspapers.  It 
has  a  reputed  circulation  of  seven  thousand,  is  read  by 
the  upper  middle-classes,  is  cleaner  and  more  up-to-date 
from  a  typographical  standpoint  than  any  other  Uru- 
guayan paper,  and  is  run  as  closely  as  possible  on 
American  plans.  It  is  a  good  advertising  medium  for 
average  goods,  that  is,  articles  not  expensive  enough  to 
be  classed  as  luxuries  but  too  good  to  be  within  the 
reach  of  the  peon  class.  It  is  a  seven  column  paper, 
241^  inches  by  I7I/2  inches,  and  its  advertising  rate  is 
given  as  twenty-eight  cents  per  centimeter  for  the  sec- 
ond and  third  pages  and  twenty-five  cents  for  the  other 
pages.  It  should  be  remembered  that  Uruguay  is  a  gold 
standard  country  with  a  well  established  and  sound 
monetary  system,  and  that  the  Uruguayan  peso  is  equal 
in  normal  times  to  one  dollar  and  four  cents  in  Ameri- 
can money. 

The  paper  most  favored  by  the  powerful  ranching, 
farming  and  live-stock  interests  of  the  country  is  "El 
^iglo."  It  is  published  every  morning,  claims  a  circu- 
lation of  ten  thousand,  probably  correct,  and  publishes 
a  great  deal  of  rural  and  agricultural  news  in  addition 
to  the  usual  news  grist  of  the  other  papers.  It  is  an 
eight  column  paper,  24^^  inches  by  17i/^  inches  and  asks 
one  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  for  a  full  page  adver- 
tisement. It  deserves  careful  consideration  in  the  case 
of  advertisers  who  desire  to  sell  tractors,  farm  and 
ranch  implements,  wind-mills,  tools,  automobile  and 
motor  trucks,  electrical  goods  and  home  lighting  outfits, 


204  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

and  anything  required  by  a  high  class  stock  raising  and 
farming  country. 

"El  Telegrafo"  is  a  paper  published  in  the  late  eve- 
ning, containing  last  cable  news  and  general  items  of 
the  day.  It  is  of  doubtful  value  in  the  case  of  most 
American  advertisers.  It  has  a  circulation  of  ten  thou- 
sand, is  a  seven  column,  24  inches  by  17i/^  inches  sheet 
and  charges  thirty  cents  per  centimeter  for  ordinary 
issues  and  fifty  cents  on  Sundays  and  feast-days. 

An  evening  newspaper  with  a  circulation  of  about 
six  thousand  that  stands  well  with  the  people  is  "La 
Razon."  This  paper  is  essentially  a  home  newspaper, 
and,  in  consequence,  is  popular  with  advertisers  of 
domestic  articles,  toilet  and  textile  goods  and  other 
commodities  in  demand  by  women  and  children.  It  is 
uniform  in  size  with  most  of  the  other  papers  and  asks 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  page  for  advertising 
space. 

A  newspaper  that  deserves  special  attention  from 
American  advertisers  of  high-class  goods  is  "El  Pais," 
which  is  the  official  organ  of  the  conservative  party. 
It  is  read  almost  exclusively  by  people  of  the  better 
class  and  is  well  edited  by  a  cultured  staff.  It  sets  the 
pace  from  an  artistic  and  cultural  standpoint  for  the 
other  papers  and  has  a  circulation  of  twenty  thousand. 
It  charges  one  hundred  and  thirty  dollars  per  page  for 
advertising  space  and  should  receive  careful  considera- 
tion in  planning  advertising  campaigns  to  popularize 
American  goods  of  the  better  class. 

Other  newspapers  of  Montevideo  which  have  their 
particular  clienteles,  but  which  would  not  be  likely  to 
be  chosen  by  American  advertisers,  are  the  following  : 

"La  Tribuna  Popular,"  an  independent  newspaper 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  205 

of  twelve  thousand  circulation,  sold  almost  entirely  to 
the  laboring  class  of  people.  Its  rate  is  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  per  page. 

"La  Noche,"  an  evening  sporting  paper  which  might 
be  compared  with  the  "Evening  Telegram"  in  New 
York.  It  publishes  general  cable  and  other  news,  but 
specializes  on  the  results  of  races  and  other  sporting 
events.  Its  circulation  is  claimed  to  be  ten  thousand, 
but  is  subject  to  violent  fluctuations  and  the  rate  asked 
is  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  page.  It  will  inter- 
est few  American  advertisers. 

"El  Diario  Espanol"  is,  as  its  name  indicates,  the 
organ  of  the  Spanish  community  in  Uruguay,  a  high 
grade  group  of  people  of  excellent  spending  power.  It 
is  published  every  day  except  Monday,  and  has  a  circu- 
lation of  about  two  thousand.  In  spite  of  its  high-grade 
circulation,  the  advertising  rate  asked  for  its  space, 
seventy  dollars  a  page,  is  obviously  high. 

"El  Bien  Publico"  and  "La  Defensa"  are  newspapers 
of  small  circulation  and  limited  appeal  and  are  not 
likely  to  be  used  by  foreign  advertisers  except  that  the 
first  is  strongly  clerical  and  is  supported  well  by  Cath- 
olic interests. 

The  only  daily  newspaper  published  in  English  in 
Uruguay  is  the  "Montevideo  Times."  This  paper  has 
existed  for  more  than  thirty-five  years  and  is  owned  by 
British  interests,  who  have  made  its  continuation  pos- 
sible by  securing  for  it  sufiicient  advertising  revenue 
to  make  both  ends  meet.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say 
that  although  this  is  the  only  paper  available  for  most 
of  the  American  residents  in  Uruguay,  its  tone  is  en- 
tirely anti-American  and  no  opportunity  is  ever  lost  to 
point  out  the  weaknesses  of  everything  American  and 


206  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

the  incomparable  superiority  of  everything  British. 
Even  Britain's  late  Teutonic  enemies  are  more  likely 
to  get  a  square  deal  in  this  publication  than  Americans. 

The  British  in  Uruguay  number  about  twelve  hun- 
dred, with  possibly  three  hundred  Americans,  but  the 
influence  of  the  British  is  much  greater  than  their 
numerical  strength  would  indicate.  The  circulation  of 
this  paper  is  about  eight  hundred  and  the  rate  asked 
for  advertising  space  is  fifty  cents  per  centimeter.  It 
is  a  little  diflflcult  to  advise  advertisers  regarding  this 
publication.  While  opposed  to  everything  American, 
it  offers  the  only  opportunity,  so  far  as  daily  papers  are 
concerned,  to  get  in  touch  with  the  small  group  who 
read  English  but  cannot  be  reached  through  the  native 
papers. 

The  newspaper  "La  Manana,"  already  spoken  of  in 
this  chapter,  publishes  a  special  supplement  in  English 
on  Saturdays.  This  section  of  the  paper  is  called 
"Sunday  Morning"  and  consists  of  three  or  four  pages 
of  news  and  advertisements.  It  is  well  edited  and  is 
highly  regarded  by  the  English-speaking  residents  of  the 
country,  practically  all  of  whom  read  it.  Owing  to  the 
accurate  social  news  thus  presented,  this  supplement 
has  established  itself  in  a  solid  position  with  those  for 
whom  it  is  prepared.  Three  columns  are  devoted  to 
general  and  social  news  of  the  English-speaking  com- 
munity, with  two  columns  for  advertisements  on  each 
side.  It  is  being  well  patronized  by  advertisers  in  Mon- 
tevideo, with  results  that  would  appear  to  be  profitable. 

A  great  feature  of  the  Uruguayan  newspaper  business 
is  the  printing  of  special  issues  on  the  national  holidays 
and  on  the  national  holidays  of  the  different  racial 
groups  that  compose  the  population,  especially  those 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  207 

from  Italy  and  Spain.  These  special  issues  run  to  many- 
pages,  are  generally  filled  with  a  mixture  of  fillers, 
poems,  cheap  fiction  and  general  balderdash.  Their 
value  as  advertising  mediums  is  practically  nil,  but  ad- 
vertisers are  constantly  importuned  to  take  space.  No 
attention  should  be  paid  to  such  requests  as  space  used 
in  these  issues  may  be  considered  almost  entirely  wasted. 

In  the  field  of  trade  papers  Uruguay  is  almost,  but 
not  quite,  as  poverty-stricken  as  the  other  Latin- 
American  countries.  There  are  several  rather  high 
class  publications  devoted  to  the  live  stock  industry  and 
to  agriculture,  and  they  are  widely  read  by  those  en- 
gaged in  such  pursuits.  The  most  important  are  "Pur 
Sang,"  "Viva  Rural,"  "Asociacion  Rural  del  Uruguay," 
"Campos  y  Hacienda,"  and  "El  Estanciero.^'  The 
first  three  are  monthlies,  the  fourth  a  weekly,  and  the 
last  is  published  every  fifteen  days.  They  average  about 
five  thousand  in  circulation  and  are  essential  to  an  ad- 
vertising campaign  which  is  intended  to  create  sales  for 
goods  required  on  the  farms  and  ranches.  Inasmuch  as 
the  great  landed  estates  have  splendid  homes  on  them 
and  are  owned  by  families  to  whom  money  is  no  object, 
such  rural  papers  have  an  advertising  value  greater 
than  would  be  apparent  to  one  not  closely  informed  con- 
cerning them. 

The  "Revista  Maritima,"  as  its  name  indicates,  is 
devoted  to  news  of  shipping  and  to  all  matters  connected 
with  the  port  of  Montevideo.  It  is  widely  read  by 
merchants  not  only  in  that  city,  but  in  the  other  impor- 
tant towns.  Freight  rates,  steamship  sailing  dates,  for- 
eign exchange  topics  and  allied  subjects  are  of  much 
more  immediate  importance  to  the  average  merchant  in 


208  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Uruguay  than  would  be  the  case  in  the  United  States. 
It  is  published  every  fifteen  days. 

"La  Exportacion"  is  devoted  principally  to  statistics 
of  exports  and  trade  figures  in  general.  A  circulation 
of  five  thousand  is  claimed  for  it,  but  as  its  contents 
would  normally  be  of  interest  only  to  the  more  impor- 
tant business  and  shipping  houses,  this  figure  must  be 
taken  with  a  grain  of  salt. 

"El  Comercio  Espanol"  is  a  monthly  magazine  pub- 
lished in  the  interests  of  the  Spanish  community,  but 
its  comments  on  trade  conditions  throughout  the  coun- 
try are  so  highly  regarded  that  it  has  acquired  a  posi- 
tion of  influence  to  a  marked  degree.  It  should  receive 
careful  attention  in  laying  out  plans  for  an  advertising 
campaign  in  Uruguay. 

There  are  half  a  dozen  religious  weeklies  and 
monthlies,  not  one  of  which  is  of  any  considerable  value 
as  an  advertising  medium,  and  it  is  unlikely  that  any 
American  firm  desiring  to  advertise  goods  in  that  mar- 
ket would  deem  this  field  important  enough  to  receive 
serious  attention.  The  daily  newspaper  "El  Bien  Pub- 
lico" is  the  only  publication  of  standing  which  devotes 
any  considerable  attention  to  religious  news.  Undoubt- 
edly, any  family  religious  enough  to  read  this  type  of 
publication  and  which  would  have  any  considerable 
purchasing  power  would  be  reached  through  the  col- 
umns of  "El  Bien  Publico." 

There  is  a  type  of  publication  popular  in  Uruguay 
similar  to  the  almanacs  which  many  years  ago  were 
a  prominent  feature  of  rural  life  in  the  United  States, 
although  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  present  South 
American  almanacs  are  great  improvements  on  their 
American  prototypes.    One  of  these  is  the  "Almanaque 


IN  LATTN-AMERICA  209 

del  Labrador/'  which  is  published  annually  by  the 
Banco  de  Seguros  del  Estados  in  Montevideo  and  is  dis- 
tributed free  of  charge  to  its  friends  and  clients  through- 
out the  country.  It  has  a  high  standing  with  ranchers 
and  others  who  lead  more  or  less  lonely  lives  and  is 
certain  to  be  read  from  cover  to  cover,  not  once  but 
many  times  in  the  course  of  a  year. 

Another  almanac  of  which  more  than  five  thousand 
copies  were  sold  in  1920  at  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
each  is  the  "Almanaque  Guia  El  Siglo."  It  is  a  com- 
bined directory  and  almanac,  and  the  1920  volume  con- 
tained 1940  pages  6i/^  inches  by  9i/^  inches  in  size. 
There  is  also  a  small  publication  issued  by  the  Coatea 
advertising  agency  which  contains  the  time-tables  of 
the  country's  railroads  and  miscellaneous  information. 
It  is  published  twice  a  year  and  a  circulation  of  twenty 
thousand  copies  per  issue  is  claimed  for  it.  The  adver- 
tising rate  is  twenty-five  dollars  per  page  per  issue. 

Street-car  card  advertising  is  employed  to  some  extent 
in  Uruguay,  but,  as  in  most  of  the  other  South  Ameri- 
can countries,  it  is  far  from  having  reached  the  develop- 
ment now  witnessed  in  the  United  States.  Plans  to 
use  this  medium  would  be  limited  to  Montevideo,  where 
680  street-cars  are  operated  by  two  companies.  La  So- 
ciedad  Comercial  de  Montevideo  and  La  Transatlantica. 
The  charge  for  the  use  of  the  total  advertising  space  in 
the  interior  of  each  car  is  fifteen  dollars  per  month. 

Other  advertising  opportunities,  such  as  posters  and 
sign  boards,  are  in  a  low  state  of  development  and  offer 
few  attractions  to  the  average  American  advertiser. 
Eoad  signs  are  of  dubious  value,  because  Uruguayan 
country  roads  are  abominably  bad  as  a  rule.    There  are 


210  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

a  few  good  roads,  but  most  of  the  automobile  and  other 
better-class  road  travel  is  confined  to  the  cities. 

An  annual  cattle-fair  held  in  Montevideo  every  year 
during  the  last  week  of  August  presents  an  unexcelled 
opportunity  for  demonstrating  and  advertising  all  goods 
that  would  be  useful  in  the  rural  districts.  This  annual 
fair  is  an  important  affair.  Thousands  of  visitors  from 
all  over  the  country  and  from  Argentina  attend  it  every 
year  and  the  sales  of  cattle  run  into  large  figures.  For 
many  residents  of  the  rural  districts  it  is  the  one  oppor- 
tunity during  the  year  to  get  to  the  city  and  to  keep  in 
touch  with  modern  improvements.  It  is  becoming  the 
practice  of  many  manufacturers  of  agricultural  imple- 
ments to  seize  the  opportunity  offered  by  this  annual 
event  to  demonstrate  their  goods,  much  as  in  the  case 
of  the  various  state  fairs  held  in  the  United  States. 

For  those  who  desire  to  use  Uruguayan  advertising 
space,  but  find  it  impossible  to  personally  negotiate  with 
publishers  or  others,  the  services  of  three  advertising 
agencies  may  be  employed.  These  are  all  in  Montevideo 
and  are  as  follows : 

Agenda  Publicidad,  Calle  Juan  C.  Gomez  1386. 

Agenda  Coates,  Calle  Ituzaingo  1459. 

Agenda  Delia  Croce  &  Suarez  Martins,  Calle  Treinta 
y  Tres  1354. 

These  agencies  are  reputable,  have  a  good  standing, 
and  will  carry  out  the  instructions  of  advertisers  to  the 
best  of  their  ability,  but  it  should  always  be  remembered 
that  the  facilities  of  advertising  agencies  in  South 
America  are  far  less  adequate  than  in  America  and  that 
the  only  satisfactory  method  of  handling  an  advertis- 
ing campaign  in  any  South  American  country  is  to  have 
one's  own  personal  representative  on  the  ground. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  211 

What  has  been  said  in  this  chapter  concerning  the 
situation  in  Uruguay  will  apply,  with  local  modifica- 
tions to  suit  each  country,  to  the  entire  continent  of 
South  America.  Problems  that  are  individual  in  their 
nature  and  limited  in  scope  will  be  found  in  every  coun- 
try, and  must  be  approached  intelligently  if  the  adver- 
tising appropriation  is  not  to  be  utterly  wasted.  It  is 
surprising  to  find  how  different  Latin  countries  can  be 
from  their  next-door  neighbors,  and  there  is  neither 
truth  nor  sense  in  the  efforts  of  some  writers  to  com- 
pare the  countries  of  South  America  with  the  various 
states  of  the  American  union.  There  is  no  such  com- 
parison; every  South  American  country  is,  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  a  country  by  itself,  and  any  attempted 
grouping  tactics  will  inevitably  cause  loss  and  dissat- 
isfaction. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

The  necessity  for  registering  trade-marks  in  Latin-American  coun- 
tries— Law  does  not  protect  original  owners  of  mark — Vital,  if  you 
expect  to  do  business  in  these  lands. 

TO  start  an  advertising  or  selling  campaign  in 
any  Latin- American  country  without  first  hav- 
ing registered  your  trade-mark  would  be  the 
height  of  foolishness  and  exhibit  the  poorest  business 
judgment.  In  practically  all  of  these  republics  anyone 
is  entitled  to  register  any  trade-mark,  provided  he  pays 
the  governmental  fees  and  meets  a  few  simple  require- 
ments. The  mere  fact  that  he  is  not  the  originator  or 
owner  of  the  trade-mark  in  question  is  unimportant. 
Once  he  has  registered  the  mark,  his  ownership  is  per- 
fect and  the  laws  of  these  nations  rigidly  protect  him 
in  the  legal  right  which  he  has  thus  acquired.  While 
every  republic  south  of  the  Rio  Grande  permits  this 
open  practice  of  robbery — in  fact,  gives  it  government 
sanction — the  Argentine,  Brazil,  Chile,  Peru,  Venezuela 
and  Mexico  are  perhaps  the  greatest  malefactors. 

Judgment  should  therefore  dictate  that  as  soon  as 
you  have  registered  your  trade-mark  in  the  United 
States  you  should  follow  the  same  course  in  the  six 
countries  above  named,  even  if  at  the  time  you  do  not 
contemplate  developing  your  trade  in  these  lands.  The 
process  is  relatively  simple,  the  fees  nominal,  and  the 
entire  matter  can  be  easily  and  promptly  handled  either 
by  your  attorney  or  your  patent  solicitor. 

212 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE  213 

If  you  do  not  take  such  a  step,  in  all  probability  you 
will  find  to  your  great  amazement,  when  you  start  to 
prospect  foreign  markets,  that  some  resident  of  these 
lands  has  bodily  appropriated  your  mark  and  has  been 
awaiting  your  entrance  into  the  trade  with  the  sole  idea 
of  holding  you  up  and  making  you  pay  him  for  the 
right  to  use  your  own  trade-mark  and  sell  your  own 
goods.  Indeed,  I  have  known  one  instance  where  the 
registrant  of  a  well-known  American  patent  medicine 
trade-mark  waited  thirty-five  years  before  collecting 
120,000  from  the  rightful  owner.  During  that  period  of 
time  he  religiously  renewed  the  trade-mark,  thrice,  cer- 
tain that  sooner  or  later  the  medicine,  which  was  being 
well  advertised,  would  make  it  worth  the  small  mone- 
tary investment  and  repay  his  extreme  patience. 

As  a  rule,  these  trade-mark  laws  were  designed  to 
afford  an  easy  means  of  livelihood  for  gangs  of  unscrupu- 
lous politicians  which  infest  Latin-America.  In  this 
connection  the  practices  common  in  the  Argentine  are 
typical  of  those  in  the  other  countries  and  may  there- 
fore be  referred  to  in  some  detail,  in  order  to  give  the 
uninitiated  an  insight  into  the  methods  in  vogue.  It 
being  unnecessary  to  prove  the  right  of  ownership  of  a 
trade-mark,  the  question  of  registering  the  same  is 
merely  a  matter  of  filling  out  a  few  blanks,  submitting 
a  sample  of  the  mark  desired  to  be  registered,  and  pay- 
ing a  small  fee.  Knowing  that  Americans  are  great 
advertisers,  magazines  and  other  periodicals  from  the 
United  States  are  subscribed  for  and  each  issue  care- 
fully scanned  for  new  advertisements,  with  the  idea  in 
view  that  if  the  article  being  featured  becomes  a  good 
seller,  the  legitimate  owner  will  be  tempted  to  enter 
foreign  fields.    As  new  names  appear  in  the  announce- 


214  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

ments  they  are  registered  at  once,  and  the  complacent 
thief  or  thieves  then  await  the  coming  of  their  victim. 
In  fact,  so  thoroughly  is  this  done  that  one  group  of 
crooks  with  headquarters  in  the  city  of  Buenos  Aires 
also  register  these  trade-marks  in  Uruguay,  Paraguay 
and  Chile,  maintaining  offices  for  this  purpose. 

After  completing  the  illegal  registration  two  courses 
are  open  for  these  commercial  wolves — either  of  which 
means  a  financial  gain  for  them.  The  first  one  is  to 
wait  until  the  goods  entitled  to  be  sold  under  the  lawful 
trade-mark  come  into  the  country  and  then  confiscate 
the  entire  shipment.  This  information  is  easily  gained, 
for  Latin-American  newspapers  publish  invoices  of  in- 
coming ships,  giving  the  names  of  the  consignees  and 
consignors.  With  the  goods  thus  legally  attached,  the 
owner  of  the  fraudulent  trade-mark  is  then  ready  to 
negotiate  for  the  sale  of  the  mark  he  owns  to  the  rightful 
owner,  or  else  he  may  dispose  of  the  goods  he  has  so 
acquired.  Usually  he  prefers  to  sell  the  mark  outright, 
and  invariably  suggests  this  method  of  solving  the  prob- 
lem. The  price  asked  is  always  ten  or  twenty  times 
more  than  he  expects  to  get,  and  consequently  a  period 
of  interviews,  proposals  and  counter-proposals  follow, 
which  waste  time  and  keep  the  goods  out  of  the  market. 
In  the  end  the  genuine  owner  of  the  mark  has  to  pay  a 
great  deal  for  the  possession  of  his  own  property,  to 
say  nothing  of  exorbitant  legal  fees,  and  incidentally  he 
has  suffered  an  expense  in  keeping  a  representative  on 
the  ground.  If  this  method  of  attack  does  not  appeal 
to  the  rogues,  they  may  perhaps  wait  until  a  large  adver- 
tising campaign  has  been  started  and  a  genuinely  good 
market  created  for  the  goods,  when  they  will  swoop 
down  and  attach  everything  bearing  the  trade-mark, 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  215 

obtain  injunctions  against  the  dealers  carrying  the 
goods  with  the  trade-mark  appearing  on  the  same, 
and  thereby  force  the  owner  to  settle  according  to  their 
terms.  Perhaps  the  most  notorious  incident  of  this  kind 
was  the  confiscation  of  an  entire  cargo  of  goods  bearing 
a  well-known  Ajnerican  trade-mark,  the  thieves  having 
awaited  this  opportune  moment  for  several  years  until 
the  business  had  been  developed  to  such  proportions  that 
they  knew  they  could  force  a  settlement  according  to 
their  own  terms. 

In  the  United  States  we  are  accustomed  to  use  the 
basis  of  property  as  a  trade-mark,  registration  being 
merely  an  additional  means  of  protecting  that  property 
right  secured  by  use.  In  Latin-America  the  right  of 
property  in  a  mark  is  derived  solely  from  the  law  and 
depends  entirely  upon  the  registration  of  the  same.  It 
is  the  duty  of  our  Department  of  State  and  our  Depart- 
ment of  Commerce  to  remedy  this  situation,  and  unques- 
tionably, if  the  matter  was  properly  presented  through 
the  right  channels,  the  laws  of  the  various  Latin- 
American  republicsi  would  be  amended  to  harmonize 
with  our  laws  as  far  as  trade-marks  are  concerned. 

Little  sympathy  need  be  expected  from  Latin-Ameri- 
can courts,  which  usually  look  upon  the  foreigner  as  a 
person  to  be  thoroughly  exploited.  I  was  present  at  a 
hearing  in  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important  South 
American  countries,  when  the  American  representative 
of  an  American  company  was  attempting  by  legal  pro- 
cedure to  regain  the  right  to  use  the  particular  packing- 
box  in  which  their  goods  were  sold,  and  which  had  been 
used  and  extensively  advertised  in  the  United  States. 
An  Argentinian  scamp  had  registered  not  only  the 
trade-marked  name,  but  also  patented  the  box.    As  he 


216  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

told  the  judge  how  he  had  worked  in  dire  poverty  and 
under  the  most  distressing  circumstances,  often  going 
to  bed  hungry  to  perfect  this  packing-box,  the  judge  and 
the  audience  were  moved  to  tears  and  the  American  who 
had  been  foolish  enough  to  take  the  matter  to  the  native 
court  received  about  the  worst  tongue-lashing  I  have 
ever  heard  administered.  As  a  result,  an  order  was 
promptly  signed  by  the  court  authorizing  the  seizure  of 
all  goods  contained  in  such  packages  in  the  grocery- 
stores  of  Buenos  Aires.  When  this  was  done,  the  man 
who  had  appropriated  the  mark  promptly  sold  the  goods 
to  other  stores  and  incidentally  began  negotiations  with 
the  rightful  owners  of  the  trade-mark,  with  the  idea  of 
permitting  them  to  acquire  their  own  property. 

In  Peru  I  was  concerned  with  an  attempt  to  regain 
the  use  of  a  well-known  trade-mark  for  a  patent  medi- 
cine, and  I  mention  the  details  in  order  to  show  the 
unique  defenses  which  one  may  expect  from  those  who 
really  make  a  habit  of  appropriating  such  marks  for 
their  own  profit.  The  trade-mark  in  question  had  been 
used  in  this  country  for  approximately  half  a  century. 
Little  by  little  the  merits  of  the  medicine  extended  into 
South  and  Central  American  countries,  until  Peru  was 
consuming  several  thousand  cases  annually.  One  of  the 
best-known  druggists  of  Peru  actually  sent  to  the  United 
States  and  had  250,000  labels  printed,  using  an  original 
label  for  the  copy.  So  perfect  was  the  falsification  of 
the  mark  that  it  was  only  possible  to  recognize  the 
legitimate  mark  by  soaking  the  label  from  the  bottle 
and  holding  it  up  to  the  light,  in  order  to  detect  the 
pin-point  perforations  used  by  the  real  owner  as  indi- 
cating the  date  on  which  the  bottle  left  the  laboratory. 
On  my  arrival  in  Peru  I  called  upon  this  druggist  and, 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  217 

by  introducing  myself  as  a  physician,  was  allowed  to 
enter  his  private  office.  There  I  was  confronted  by 
about  100,000  of  the  false  trade-marks,  piled  high  on 
shelves  in  front  of  me.  Argument  failed  to  convince  the 
infringer  that  decency  demanded  the  destruction  of  the 
illegitimate  trade-marks,  and  I  was  forced  to  bring  the 
man  into  court,  engaging  for  that  purpose  one  of  the 
best-known  lawyers  in  the  country  and  a  relative  of  the 
presiding  judge.  The  druggist  realized  that,  due  to  the 
relationship  existing  between  the  attorney  and  the  mag- 
istrate, his  case  was  lost  and  blandly  told  the  court  that 
he  would  destroy  all  the  false  trade-marks  and  never 
use  them  in  the  future.  He  expurgated  himself  of  sin 
in  the  matter  by  saying: 

"  Your  Honor,  to  me  this  is  a  most  remarkable  illus- 
tration of  thought  transference.  Is  it  not  strange  that 
I,  a  small  druggist  in  Peru,  should  unconsciously  copy 
in  its  identical  form  this  North  American  firm's  trade- 
mark, not  omitting  a  single  detail,  a  fact  which  you  can 
readily  see  is  true  because  I  have  never  been  outside  the 
confines  of  my  native  land?"  Whereupon  the  court 
agreed  with  him,  commenting  favorably  upon  the  situa- 
tion and  what  a  wonderful  thing  thought  transference 
was. 

When  a  Latin- American  court  starts  in  to  hamper  a 
litigant  in  these  trade-mark  cases,  nothing  is  more  hope- 
less. A  well-known  German  mineral  water,  which  had 
a  large  sale  throughout  Latin-America,  began  to  note 
an  enormous  decrease  in  its  sales,  and  investigation 
disclosed  the  fact  that  in  most  of  the  prominent  cities 
there  was  not  only  one,  but  several  men  engaged  in  buy- 
ing its  empty  bottles,  filling  them  with  hydrant  water, 
corking  and  labeling  the  bottles  with  a  yellow  label 


218  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

similar  to  its  label,  and  finally  boxing  the  water  and 
selling  it  as  the  original  mineral  water.  Recourse  to 
the  courts  developed  the  fact  that  in  order  to  gain  a 
conviction  against  these  frauds  every  successive  step  in 
the  deception  must  be  proved  in  court.  First  of  all,  it 
must  be  shown  that  the  empty  bottle  was  bought  with 
the  idea  of  filling,  corking,  labeling  and  packing  to  de- 
fraud the  buyer  in  quantities,  and  that  it  was  in  turn 
sold  to  the  retailer  with  the  express  purpose  of  deceiving 
the  casual  purchaser.  Obviously,  such  a  complete  chain 
of  proof  was  impossible,  and  the  only  country  wherein 
a  conviction  was  obtained  was  Chile,  where,  inciden- 
tally, an  English  druggist  was  fined  and  sent  to  the 
penitentiary  for  one  year  for  bottling  and  selling  the 
mineral  water  in  question.  In  this  connection  it  may 
be  interesting  to  note  that  fully  thirty-three  per  cent, 
of  the  population  of  Chile  is  either  German  or  of  Ger- 
man descent. 

It  may  be  well  to  refer  to  the  fact  that  many  Latin- 
American  countries  have  what  are  called  Pure  Food 
Laws.  These,  in  most  instances,  are  mere  means  of  pro- 
viding jobs  for  politicians  who  are  made  members  of 
the  Pure  Food  Commissions  and  thus  given  an  oppor- 
tunity to  graft  from  those  who  seek  to  sell  articles  com- 
ing under  the  provisions  of  these  so-called  laws.  It 
may  be  set  down  as  a  general  rule  that  any  article  of 
food  or  medicine,  or  anything  else  for  that  matter,  can 
be  registered  under  these  so-called  laws,  provided  the 
members  of  the  commission  are  properly  propitiated. 
For  this  purpose  no  other  method  of  approach  is  as  well 
calculated  to  bring  success  as  that  of  employing  any 
well-known  lawyer  who  stands  in  with  the  political 
party  in  power.  Years  of  experience  have  taught  him  to 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  219 

know  to  a  "centavito"  the  price  of  each  member  on  the 
board,  to  which  must  be  added  the  legal  fee,  of  course. 
That  is  the  total  sum  it  will  cost  you  to  secure  a  "pure 
food"  permit. 

I  have  known  a  leading  brand  of  American  cement  to 
be  prohibited  from  sale  in  one  republic  because  its  repre- 
sentative would  not  pay  the  "pure-food  commission" 
the  price  they  demand  to  protect  their  countrymen  from 
the  use  of  what  they  termed  an  inferior  product.  An 
American  mouth-wash,  the  name  of  which  is  a  household 
word  in  this  country,  has  for  years  been  denied  admis- 
sion into  the  sacred  confines  of  another  republic  because 
of  the  "passing  price"  asked  by  the  pure  food  zealots. 
Hundreds  of  American  medicines  and  foods  have  had 
similar  experiences  in  these  lands  of  the  Southern  Cross. 
There  is  only  one  solution  of  the  problem:  Hire  a 
lawyer  who  is  intimately  acquainted  with  the  members 
of  the  commission  and  have  him  use  his  influence  to  get 
them  to  accept  a  low  price  for  their  services. 


THE  END 


NOTE 

A  complete  list  of  Latin-American  publications  in  all  proba- 
bility will  never  exist.  The  one  herein  appended  is  made  from 
the  author's  records  and  from  data  supplied  by  the  Pan-Amer- 
ican Union  and  the  Department  of  Commerce,  and  is  perhaps 
the  most  authentic  ever  published. 

Latin-American  periodicals  are  usually  short-lived.  Some  of 
the  larger  cities  have  papers  which  have  existed  for  several  years, 
but  they  are  relatively  few.  The  World  War  and  the  general 
business  depression  which  followed  it  through  the  countries 
south  of  the  Eio  Grande  has  served  to  eliminate  numerous 
papers  of  all  classes  in  these  republics;  but  the  Latin- American 
individual  loves  publicity  and  as  times  become  normal  many 
of  the  journals  now  suspended  will  be  reborn  or  come  to  light 
under  other  names. 

As  a  rule,  the  better  class  of  newspapers  published  in  the 
capitals  and  principal  cities  of  Latin-America  have  much  of 
their  circulation  in  the  surrounding  country — in  fact,  penetrate 
the  most  remote  regions  of  the  republic.  They  are  therefore 
the  best  mediums,  and  no  advertising  campaign  is  complete 
without  including  several  of  these  sheets. 

The  papers  published  in  the  smaller  cities  have  a  certain 
influence  in  their  immediate  conmiunities  and,  as  their  rates 
are  usually  extremely  modest,  are  worthy  of  some  consideration 
in  a  complete  and  general  campaign  of  publicity. 

AEGENTINE 

Area,  1,153418  square  miles.  Population,  7,000,000,  vir- 
tually all  white  with  a  very  few  Indians.  Language,  Spcmish. 
Principal  cities:  Buenos  Aires  {capital),  1,700,000;  Roswrio, 
300,000;  Cordoba,  120,000;  La  Plata,  100,000;  Tucuman,  80,- 
000;  Bahia  Blanca,  75,000;  Mendoza,  65,000;  Santa  Fe, 
50,000. 

Publications  in  Argentine. 
Buenos  Aires: 

La  Argentina;  Spanish;  morning  and  Sunday;  circulation 
45,000. 

221 


222  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Courrier  de  la  Plata ;  French ;  morning ;  circulation  5,000. 

Critica;  Spanish;  evening  and  Sunday;  circulation  10,000. 

El  Diario;  Spanish;  evening;  circulation  25,000. 

Diario  Espanol;  Spanish;  morning;  circulation  25,000. 

La  Epoca;  Spanish;  evening  and  Sunday;  circulatiOkU  25,000. 

Giomal  d'ltalia;  Italian;  morning;  circulation  15,000. 

Herald;  English;  morning;  circulation  4,500. 

Idea  Nacional;  Spanish;  evening;  4,000. 

Journal  Frangais;  French;  morning;  4,000. 

La  Repuhhca;  Spanish;  morning;  10,000. 

La  Manaiia;  Spanish;  morning;  8,000. 

La  Nacion;  Spanish;  morning  and  Sunday,  130,000. 

La  Patria  degli  Italiani;  Italian;  morning;  50,000. 

La  Prensa;  Spanish;  morning  and  Sunday,  165,000. 

El  Pueblo;  Spanish;  morning  and  Sunday;  5,000  (morning) 

and  15,000  (Sunday). 
La  Razon;  Spanish;  evening,  3  editions;  50,000. 
Standard;  English;  morning;  5,500. 
Ultima  Hora;  Spanish;  evening  and  Sunday;  13,000. 
La  Vanguardia;  Spanish;  morning;  35,000. 
Atlantida;  Spanish;  weekly;  35,000. 
El  Campo;  Spanish;  monthly;  3,500. 
Caras  y  Caretas;  Spanish;  weekly;  85,000. 
Correo  de  Espana;  Spanish;  weekly;  35,000. 
Fray  Mocho;  Spanish;  weekly;  18,000. 
Gaceta  Rural;  Spanish;  monthly;  5,500. 
El  Hogar;  Spanish;  weekly;  65,000. 
Mundo  Argentino;  Spanish;  weekly;  120,000. 
Myriam;  Spanish;  monthly;  3,000. 
Plus  Ultra;  Spanish;  monthly;  7,000. 
La  Revista  de  las  Industrias  Electricas  y  Mecanicas;  Spanish; 

monthly;  2,000 
Revista  Popular;  Spanish;  weekly;  40,000. 
Review  of  River  Plate;  English;  weekly;  3,000. 
River  Plate  Observer;  English;  weekly;  1,400 
Tit  Bits;  Spanish;  weekly;  90,000. 
Vida  Portena;  Spanish;  weekly;  17,000. 
La  Union;  afternoon  daily;  Spanish. 
La  Gaceta  de  Buenos  Aires;  afternoon  daily;  Spanish. 
Boletin  Oficial;  official  daily;  Spanish. 
Boletin  Judicial;  official  legal  daily;  Spanish. 
Correo  Musical  Sud- Americano ;  weekly  devoted  to  music; 

Spanish. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  223 

El  Domingo;  weekly  devoted  to  sports;  Spanish. 

Nuevo  Tiempo;  literary  semimonthly;  Spanish. 

Revista  de  Economia  y  Finanzas;  commercial  bimonthly; 
Spanish. 

La  Argentina  Economica;  commercial  bimonthly;  Spanish. 

Eevista  Nacional;  literary  bimonthly;  Spanish. 

Espana  Nueva;  semiweekly  dedicated  to  the  Spanish  colony; 
Spanish. 

El  Resumen;  commercial  weekly;  Spanish. 

Arquitectura ;  semimonthly  magazine  for  engineers  and  archi- 
tects; Spanish. 

La  Ingenieria;  engineering  monthly;  Spanish. 

Revista  Tecnica  Ingenieria;  semimonthly  technical  magazine; 
Spanish. 

Lloyd  Argentino;  semimonthly  devoted  to  shipping  interests; 
Spanish. 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  Oficial  Espanola;  monthly  bulletin  of 
the  Spanish  Chamber  of  Commerce;  Spanish. 

Boletin  Oficial  de  la  Bolsa  de  Comercio;  weekly  bulletin  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce;  Spanish. 

The  River  Plate  Cement  Armado;  monthly  magazine  devoted 
to  cement  construction;  Spanish, 

Revista  del  Centro  Estudiantes  de  Ingenieria;  monthly  mag- 
azine of  students  of  engineering;  Spanish. 

Revista  del  Circulo  Medico  Argentino;  monthly  medical 
journal;  Spanish. 

Revista  Mensual  del  Museo  Social  Argentino;  monthly  so- 
ciological journal;  Spanish. 

Boletin  de  la  Union  Industrial  Argentina;  monthly  indus- 
trial magazine;  Spanish. 

La  Industria  de  Cueros  y  Calzado ;  monthly  magazine  devoted 
to  the  shoe  and  leather  industry;  Spanish. 

Revista  Ilustrada  de  la  Zapateria;  monthly  magazine  devoted 
to  the  shoe  and  leather  industry;  Spanish. 

Boletin  de  la  Asociacion  Argentina  Electro-Tecnica ; 
monthly  bulletin  of  the  Society  of  Electrical  Engineers; 
Spanish. 

El  Auto  Argentino;  monthly  magazine  devoted  to  automo- 
biling;  Spanish, 

El  Calzado  en  la  Republica  Argentina;  monthly  magazine 
devoted  to  the  shoe  and  leather  industry;  Spanish. 

El  Ferroviario;  semimonthly  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the 
National  Railway  Association;  Spanish. 


224  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Archives  de  Higiene;  medical  review;  Spanish. 

Argentina  Medica;  medical  weekly;  Spanish, 

Arquitectura  y  Construccion ;  architects'  and  builders'  maga- 
zine; Spanish. 

El  Cerealista;  monthly  devoted  to  cereal  interests;  Spanish. 

II  Eoma;  afternoon  daily;  Italian, 

La  Grande  Italia;  afternoon  daily;  Italian, 

The  Hibernian  Argentine  Eeview;  weekly;  English. 

The  British  Magazine;  monthly  magazine  published  by  the 
British  Society  in  the  Argentine  Eepublic;  English. 

The  Times  of  Argentina ;  weekly  shipping  journal ;  English. 

Deutsche  La  Plata  Zeitung ;  morning  daily ;  German. 

Argentinisches  Tageblatt;  morning  daily;  German. 

Assalam;  afternoon  daily  in  Syrian. 

La  Eusia  Libre;  semiweekly;  Eussian. 

Nuevo  Mundo;  weekly;  Eussian. 

La  Bande  a  Otomna;  weekly  in  Arabic  and  Spanish;  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  the  Turkish  colony. 

La  Opinion 

El  Oeste 

Las  Nuevas  Tendencias  Economicas 

La  Electrica  y  la  Maquinaria. 

El  Magazine 

El  Legitimista  Espanol 

El  Imparcial 

La  Ilustracion  Argentina 

La  Gaceta  de  Buenos  Aired 

El  Cronista  Comercial 

La  Union;  Pehuajo. 

El  Porvenir 

La  Voz;  Maipu. 

La  Eepublica ;  Ciudad  de  la  Plata. 

El  Mentor;  Junin. 

El  Comentario;  General  Villugas. 

El  Argentine;  Chascomus. 

El  Chacabuco;  Chacabuco. 

El  Progreso;  Adolfo  Alsina. 

La   Voz  del  Pueblo;  Exaltacion  de  la  Cruz. 

El  Tiempo 

El  Semanario 

El  Eadical 

La  Provincia 

La  Patria 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  225 


El  Independiente ;  Trenque  Lauquen. 

La  Capital;  Santa  Eosa  de  Toay. 

El  Noticiero;  San  Nicolas  de  los  Arroyos. 

El  Pueblo;  Pergamino. 

El  Argentino;  Las  Flores. 

El  Pueblo;  Coronel  Vidal. 

La  Comuna;  Carlos  Tejedor. 

El  Comercio ;  San  Nicolas  de  Los  Arroyos. 

El  Comercio,  Avellaneda 

El  Combate;  Sarandi 

El  Combate;  Avellaneda. 

El  Ciudadano;  San  Martin. 

El  Ciudadano;  Cachari. 

El  Centenario;  Mercedes. 

El  Centenario;  General  Juan  Madariaga. 

El  Censor;  La  Plata. 

El  Censor;  Tapalque. 

El  Ariete;  Quilmes. 

El  Imparcial;  Carlos  Casares. 

El  Hogax;  Juarez. 

El  Fiscal;  Coronel  Suarez. 

El  Eco  de  Tomquist;  Tomquist. 

La  Defensa;  Campana. 

El  Debate;  Chivilcoy. 

La  Nueva  Era;  Carmen  de  Patagoneel. 

Nueva  Epoca;  Quilmes. 

El  Nacional;  Avellaneda. 

El  Nacional;  Eojas 

La  Nacion;  Ciudad  de  la  Plata. 

El  Municipio;  Coronel  Brandzen. 

El  Imparcial;  Rivadavia. 

El  Imparcial;  Lanus. 

El  Imparcial;  Lujan. 

El  Imparcial;  Moron. 

El  Imparcial;  Lomas  de  Zamora* 

El  Independiente;  Loberia. 

La  Eepublica;  Lomas  de  Zamora. 

La  Eepublica;  Necochea. 

La  Eepublica;  San  Andres  de  Giles. 

El  Porteno;  San  Miguel. 

El  Orden;  Moreno. 

La  Opinion;  San  Vicente. 

La  Voz  de  Eanchos;  General  Paz. 


226  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

La  Voz  del  Pueblo;  General  Lamadrid. 

La  Voz  del  Pueblo;  Tres  Arroyos. 

La  Verdad;   Coronel  Dorrego. 

La  Verdad;  Capilla  del  Senor. 

La  Tribuna  Popular;  San  Pedro. 

La  Union ;  Guido. 

La  Tribuna;  Valentin  Alsina. 

La  Tribuna;  Alberti. 

El  Trabajo;  Canals. 

La  Tarde;  Tandil. 

El  Siglo;  Mercedes. 
Bahia  Blanca: 

Nueva  Provincia;  Spanish;  morning;  circulation  9,000. 

El  Atlantico;  Spanish;  daily. 

El  Siglo;  Spanish;  daily. 

El  Bahia  Blanca;  Spanish;  daily. 

El  Censor;  Spanish;  daily. 
Cordoba: 

Los  Principios;  Spanish;  morning;  circulation  8,000. 

La  Voz  del  Interior 

El  Orden;  Eio  Cuarto. 

El  Escolar  Argentino;  Casilla  de  Correo  53. 

El  Progreso,  Alta  Garcia. 

El  Trabajo;  Villa  Maria. 
La  Plata: 

El  Dia;  Spanish;  morning;  12,000. 
Mendoza: 

Los  Andes;  Spanish;  morning;  12,000. 
Bosario: 

La  Capital;  Spanish;  morning;  35,000. 

La  Mensajero. 
Santa  Fe: 

La  Nueva  Epoca;  Spanish;  morning;  8,000. 

El  Liberal 

El  Colono,  Esperanza. 

El  Defensor,  Acebal. 

El  Comercio,  San  Carlos  Centro. 

El  Independiente,  Reconquista. 

El  San  Lorenzo,  San  Lorenzo. 

La  Reaccion,  Cordoba  1246,  Eosario. 
Tuaiman: 

El  Orden;  Spanish;  morning;  10,000. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  227 

Salta: 

La  Provincia,  Salta. 

La  Idea,  Eosario  de  la  Frontera. 

El  Eco  de  los  Valles,  Cafayate. 

La  Nueva  Epoca,  Salta. 
Goh.  de  la  Pampa: 

El  Heraldo,  Victorica. 

La  Brujulilla,  General  Acha. 

El  ludependiente,  Macachin. 
Misiones: 

La  Tarde;  Posadas. 

El  Pueblo,  Posadas. 

El  Eco  de  Misiones 

La  Voz  del  Obrero 
Jujuy: 

El  Provincial,  Jujuy. 

El  Dia,  Jujuy. 

Progreso  del  Norte 
Entre  Rios: 

El  Noticiero,  Gualegnaychu. 

Entre  Rios,  Colon. 

La  Opinion,  Villa  Libertad. 

El  Orden,  Rosario  Tala. 
Chaco: 

El  Colono,  Ave.  Roca  entre  Sarmiento  y  San  Juan,  Re- 
sistencia, 

Chaco,  Resistencia. 
Catamarca: 

El  Dia,  Catamarca. 
Corrientes: 

La  Abeja,  Coya. 

La  Senaana,  Esquina. 

El  Pueblo 

La  Semana,  Colon  Esq.  Maipu,  Esqmna. 
Gob.  del  Rio  Negro  : 

El  Rio  Negro,  General  Roca. 
Nequen: 

Nequen-5-20-16. 
Scmtiago  del  Estero: 

El  Siglo,  Santiago  del  Estero. 
San  Luis: 

La  Opinion,  San  Luis. 

La  Reforma 


228  ADVERTISING  FOB  TRADE 

El  Imparcial,  Mercedes. 

El  Pragreso,  San  Liiis. 
San  Jucm: 

El  Porvenir 
Goh.  del  Chuhut: 

Drafod,  Trelew. 

La  Cruz  del  Sur,  Eawson. 
General  Alvear: 

La  Reaccion 
Alta  Gracia: 

El  Progreso,  Calle  S.  Martin  y  Chile. 

BOLIVIA 

Area,  708 J95  square  miles.  Population,  2,300,000,  fully  75 
per  cent,  being  of  Indian  blood.  Language,  Spanish  and  Indian 
dialects.  Principal  cities  with  populations:  La  Paz  {capital), 
85,000;  Cochabamha,  35,000;  Su^e,  30,000;  Potosi,  28,000 : 
Omro  25,000;  Santa  Cruz,  21,600. 
La  Paz: 

El  Diario. — Spanish;  morning  except  Monday;  circulation 
about  2,000. 

La  Verdad. — Spanish;  morning  except  Monday;  circulation 
about  2,000. 

El  Norte. — Spanish;  morning  except   Monday;   circulation 
about  1,000. 

El  Tiempo. — Spanish;  morning  except  Monday;  circulation 
about  1,000. 

El  Figaro 

La  Bazon 

La  Vanguardia 

La  Opinion  Liberal 

El  Imparcial 

El  Tiempo 
Publications  Outside  of  La  Paz: 

El  Ferrocarril,  Cochabamba;  daily. 

El  Heraldo,  Cochabamba ;  daily. 

El  Eepublicano,  Cochabamba;  daily. 

El  Noroeste,  Cobija;  weekly. 

El  Porvenir,  Baures,  Beni ;  daily. 

El  Industrial,  Oruro;  daily. 

La  Naci6n,  Oruro;  daily. 

Le  Prensa,  Oruro;  daily. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  229 

El  Tiempo^  Potosi;  daily. 

La  Patria,  Potosi;  daily. 

El  Progreso,  Potosi ;  weekly. 

La  Union,  Potosi ;  weekly. 

La  Democracia,  Potosi;  bimonthly. 

La  Union,  Eiberalta,  Beni;  weekly. 

El  Comercio,  Riberalta,  Beni;  semiweekly. 

La  Ley,  Santa  Cruz ;  daily. 

El  Pais,  Santa  Cra^ ;  triweekly. 

La  Prensa,  Sucre;  daily. 

La  Manana,  Sucre;  daily. 

La  Industria,  Sucre;  biweekly. 

La  Capital,  Sucre;  triweekly. 

El  Eco  Obrero,  Sucre;  weekly. 

El  Guadalquivir,  Tarija;  weekly. 

La  Eazon,  Tarija;  weekly. 

El  Pensamiento,  Tarija;  weekly. 

El  Cronista,  Totora;  weekly. 

El  Eco  de  Beni,  Trinidad,  Beni ;  weekly. 

La  Provincia,  Tupiza;  weekly. 

El  Chorolque,  Tupiza;  weekly. 

La  Eazon,  Tupiza;  weekly. 

El  Pais,  Santa  Cruz  de  la  Sierra;  weekly. 

La  Ley,  Santa  Cruz  de  la  Sierra;  weekly. 

BRAZIL 

Arm,  3^92,000  square  miles.  Population,  27,000,000. 
Negroes,  mulattoes,  Indiams  and  whites.  Language,  Portu- 
guese and  Indian  dialects,  the  latter  spoken  only  in  the  interior. 
Principal  cities  and  populations:  Rio  de  Janeiro  (capital), 
1,200,000;  Sao  Paulo,  450,000;  Bahia,  300,000;  Para,  250,000; 
Pernambuco,  200,000;  Puerto  Alegre,  125,000;  Manaos,  75,- 
000;  Santos,  Jlf5,000. 

Newspapers  Ixmguxige    Circulation        When  Published 

Bio  de  Janeiro: 

Correio  da  Manha  Portuguese    40,000    Morning  &  Sunday 
Gazeta  de  Noticias  "  10,000  "  " 

0  Imparcial  "  20,000  "  « 

Jomal  do  Brazil  «  15,000  "  " 

Jomal  do  Commercio        "  30,000  "  ** 

Jomal  do  Commercio       "  5,000    Afternoon 

A  Noite  "  5,000    JSTight 


230 


ADVERTISINQ  FOR  TRADE 


Newspapers          Language     Circulation 

"When  PiibUslied 

A  Noticia                Portugnese 

10,000 

Morning 

0  Paiz 

(( 

25,000 

Morning  &  Sunday 

A  Razao 

tt 

8,000 

Morning 

Eio  Jomal 

€t 

12,000 

Afternoon 

A  Rua 

a 

12,000 

it 

Sao  Paulo: 

A  Capital 

€1 

5,000 

Correio  Paulistano 

tt 

15,000 

Morning  &  Sunday 

Diario  Popular 

ft 

12,000 

Afternoon 

Estado  do  Sao  Paulo 

(t 

55,000 

Morning  &  Sunday 

a          t(       (t           it 

tt 

35,000 

Afternoon 

Fanfulla 

Italian 

35,000 

Morning  &  Sunday 

A  Gazeta                  Portugese 

4,000 

Jomal  do  Comniercio 

(C 

18,000 

Morning  &  Sunday 

A  Platea 

tt 

15,000 

8am,tos: 

A  Nota 

tt 

Daily 

Diario  de  Santos 

tt 

3,000 

<i 

A  Tribuna 

tt 

5,000 

Morning 

BaMa: 

0  Imparcial 

ft 

5,000 

tt 

A  Tarde 

tt 

8,000 

Afternoon 

Pemambuca: 

Diario  do  Pemambuco 

tt 

12,000 

Morning 

Jomal  do  Recife 

tt 

10,000 

Moming    &  After- 
noon—3,000 

A  Provincia 

tt 

Daily 

Jom.al  Pequeno 

ft 

tt 

0  Intransigente 

ft 

tt 

Jomal  do  Commercio 

tt 

tt 

Pa/ra: 

Polha  do  Nori« 

tt 

5,000 

Morning 

Estado  do  Para 

tt 

6,000 

(( 

Maceio: 

Diario  do  Povo 

tt 

Daily 

Correio  da  Tarde 

tt 

ft 

Jomal  do  Alagoas 

ft 

<t 

Parahyha  do  Norte: 

A  Unico 

tt 

tt 

Norte 

ft 

tt 

Estado  do  Parahyba 

ft 

tt 

IN  LATIN-AMERICA 


231 


Newspapers             Language 

When, 

Fublished 

Natal  : 

Eepublica 

Portuguese. 

Daily 

Imprensa 

it 

Bio  de  Janeiro: 

Careta 

u 

Weekly 

Euseitudo 

a 

Monthly 

Fon  Fon 

t€ 

Weekly 

0    Jockey 

u 

ft 

A  Lavoura 

a 

Monthly 

0  Malho 

u 

Weekly 

Revista  da  Semana 

it 

tt 

S electa 

<t 

ce 

0  Tico  Tico 

€€ 

€( 

Vida  Sportiva 

f€ 

u 

Wileman's  Brazilian 

Eeview 

English 

€€ 

Don  Quixote 

Portuguese 

u 

Sao  Paulo: 

Characas  e  Quintaes 

<{ 

Monthly 

A  Cigarra 

tc 

Bi-Monthly 

Eevista  Feminina 

« 

Monthly 

A  Rolha 

a 

Weekly 

Porto  Alegre: 

Correio  do  Povo 

(t 

Daily 

Rio  Grande  do  Sul: 

0  Echo  do  Sul 

te 

ft 

Names  of  Newspapers, 

etc. 

City 

Language 

Federacao 

Porto  Alegre        Portuguese 

Correio  do  Povo 

tc 

ft 

tt 

0  Diaxio 

tt 

tt 

tc 

0  Independente 

tt 

tt 

cc 

A  Noite 

tt 

tt 

€€ 

Ultima  Hora 

tt 

tt 

tt 

0  Exemplo 

tt 

tt 

tt 

0  Progresso 

tt 

tt 

tt 

Etemidade 

tt 

tt 

tt 

Alma 

tt 

tc 

tt 

Kodak 

tt 

tc 

CC 

Eevista  da  Escola  de  Com- 

(f 

ft 

cc 

mercio 

tt 

tt 

tt 

Egatea 

C( 

tt 

ct 

Pontes  nos  II 

tt 

ft 

cc 

232 


ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 


Names  of  Newspap&rs,  Etc. 

City 

Lmiguage 

Unitas 

Porto  Alegre 

Portuguese 

Audililia 

<t             u 

tt 

A  Estancia 

(I                u 

tt 

0  Testemunho 

t(                  (C 

tt 

Imparcial 

n                tt 

tt 

Gazeta  do  Povo 

t(                  <€ 

tt 

A  Rua 

a             (t 

tt 

Actualidade 

U                  (t 

it 

Stella  d'ltalia 

it             (( 

Italian 

La  Patria 

tt             a 

ft 

Italia 

<i             tt 

ft 

Deutsche  Zeitung 

tt             tt 

German 

Deutsches  Volksblatt 

tt             tt 

<( 

Neue  Deutsche  Zeitung 

tt             tt 

<t 

EvangeHsch-Luthriches 

tt             tt 

tt 

Vaterland 

tt             ft 

tt 

A  Gazeta  de  Alegrete 

Alegrete 

Portuguese 

A  Noticia 

tt 

ft 

0  Alegretense 

tt 

tt 

0  Plenilunio 

Bage 

tt 

A  Noticia 

tt 

tt 

A  Semana 

ft 

a 

A  Tesoura 

C( 

tt 

0  Dever 

tt 

tt 

Correio  do  Sul 

tt 

tt 

0  Estado 

Benio  Concalvea 

tt 

11  Correio  d'ltalia 

tt              tt 

Italian 

0  Municipio 

Casapava 

Portuguese 

0  Commercio 

Cachosira 

tt 

0  Brazil 

Caxias 

ft 

Citta  de  Caxias 

ft 

Italian 

Cruz  Alta 

Craz  Alta 

Portuguese 

0  Mignon 

ft           ft 

ft 

A  Gazeta  Pedritense 

Don   Pedrito 

Portuguese 

Folha  do  Sul 

<(             ft 

ft 

A  Encruzilhada 

Encruzilhada 

ft 

0  Incentivo 

ft 

it 

11  Colono  Italiano 

Garibaldi 

» 

0  Guaporense 

Guapore 

f< 

0  Ijuhyense 

Ijuhy 

ft 

Die  Serra  Post 

ft 

German 

Kolonista  PolosM 

tt 

Polish 

IN  LATIN-AMERICA 


233 


Names  of  Newspapers,  Etc. 

City 

Language 

Tribima  do  Povo 

JagTiarac 

Portuguese 

A  Situacao 

(( 

tt 

0  Crapusculo 

Julio  deCastilhos 

ft 

0  Popular 

t( 

tt 

0  Maragato 

Livramento 

tt 

A  Tarde 

t< 

tt 

0  Bloco 

tt 

a 

Abre  0  Olho 

Tjageado 

tt 

0  Progress© 

Montenegro 

a 

0  Correio  do  Mnnicipio 

<t 

u 

A  Palmeira 

Palmeira 

tt 

0  Gaucho 

Passo  Fundo 

a 

0  Carasinho 

«           (( 

tt 

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Portuguese 

A  Alvoreda 

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A  Voz  do  Povo 

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Santa  Cruz 

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Diario  do  Interior 

Santa  Maria 

Portuguese 

0  X 

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A  Eecepcao 

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ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 


Names  of  Newspapers,  Etc. 

dtp 

Language 

0  Sul  do  Estado 

Santa  Victoria 

Portuguese 

A  Eepublica 

t(           (( 

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A  Farpa 

Sao  Borja 

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0  Tic-Tac 

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A  Eazao 

Sao  Leopoldo 

Poriniguese 

Deutsche  Post 

a                  {( 

German 

Grazeta  da  Tarde 

Sao  Gabriel 

Pori;uguese 

0  Imparcial 

Sao  Lourenco 

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BRITISH  GUIANA 

Area,  90^77  square  miles.  Population,  300,000,  of  whom 
160,000  are  coolies  from  India.  There  are  many  negroes  and 
about  100,000  primitive,  simple  Indians.  Language,  English 
and  Indian  dialects.  Principal  city:  Georgetown,  55,000  in- 
habitants. 
Georgetown: 

The  Daily  Argo^ 

The  Daily  Chronicle 

CHILE 

Area,  292,580  square  miles.  Population,  3,500,000,  of  whom 
33  per  cent,  or  more  are  Germans  or  of  German  extraction;  large 
percentage  of  Indians  and  mixed  India/ti  blood,  practically  no 
negroes  and  many  whites.  About  200,000  British  and  British 
descendants,  also.  Language,  Spanish.  Much  English  and 
German  spoken.  Principal  cities  with  populations :  Santiago, 
(capital),  400,000;  Valparaiso,  250,000;  I quique,  60,000;  Corv- 
cepcion,  50,000;  Antofagasta,  35,000;  Punta  Arenas,  20,000; 
Valdivia,  16, 000 ^ 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  235 

SantuLffo: 

El  Mercuric,  daily,  morning  and  Sunday,  circulation  30,000. 

Las  Ultimas  Noticias,  daily,  evening  edition  of  El  Mercurio, 
circulation  10,000. 

La  Nacion,  daily,  morning  and  Sunday,  circulation  30,000. 

El  Diario  Ilustrado,  daily,  morning  and  Sunday,  circulation 
40,000. 

La  Union,  daily  and  Sunday,  circulation,  10,000. 

La  Opinion,  daily,  evening,  circulation  10,000. 

Zig-Zag,  illustrated  weekly,  circulation  10,000. 

El  Chileno,  weekly,  2,500  circulation. 
Valparaiso  : 

Sucesos,    illustrated    weekly,    35,000    circulation.      German 
owned  and  anti-American. 

El  Mercurio,  daily,  morning  and  evenings  and  Sunday.    Cir- 
culation 10,000. 

La  Union,  daily,  morning  and  Sunday.     Circulation  22,000. 

South  Pacific  Mail,  English,  weekly,  circulation  22,000. 
Concepcion  : 

El  Sur,  daily,  morning,  15,000  circulation. 

La  Union,  daily. 

El  Noticiero  de  la  Tarde,  daily,  evening,  5,000  circulation. 
Antofagasta: 

El  Mercurio,  daily,  morning,  5,000  circulation. 

El  Industrial 

El  Norte 

La  Nacion 
Puerto  Montt: 

La  Alianza  Liberal 

El  Correo  del  Sur 
Curico : 

El  Heraldo 
Linares: 

La  Estrella  de  Linares 
Victoria: 

El  Esfuerzo 
Temuco : 

La  Manana 

La  Epoca 

La  Opinion  del  Sur 
Chilian: 

la  Discusion 


236  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Bancogua: 

El  Dia 
Tocopilla: 

La  Eazon 

La  Correspondencia 

Los  Tiempos 
Coquimho  : 

La  Constitucion 

El  Longitudinal 
Malleco: 

El  Colono 
Tacna: 

El  Pacifica 
Tdca: 

La  Manana 

El  Lontue 

La  Libertad 
Osomo : 

El  Liberal 
Taltal: 

Voz  del  Obrera 

La  Razon 
Aconcagua: 

La  Voz  de  AconcaguS 
Bio-Bio : 

El  Siglo 
Quillota: 

El  Quillota 
Punta  Arenas: 
■   El  Magallanes,  daily,  2,000  circulation. 

La  Union,  daily,  2,000  circulation. 

El  Comercio,  daily,  2,000  circulation. 

The  Magellan  Times,  weekly,  English,  600  circulation. 
Serena: 

El  Chileno 
Iquique: 

El  Tarapaca 

La  Provencia 

La  Patria 
Valdivia: 

La  Aurora 

El  Correo  de  Valdivia 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  237 

Arica: 

La  Aurora 

El  Ferrocarril 
CopUipo: 

El  Amigo  del  Pail 

La  Tribima 

COLOMBIA 

Area,  438^36  square  miles.  Population,  ^,000,000;  whites, 
n-egroes,  mulattoes  and  Indians.  Language,  Spanish  and  Indian 
dialects.  Principal  cities  with  populations:  Bogota  (capital), 
150,000;  Medellin,  15,000;  Barranquilla,  50,000;  Cartagena, 
40,000;  Cali,  30,000. 
Cali: 

Relator,  Calle  II;  daily;  circulation  4,500. 

Correo  del  Cauca,  Calle  13-9 ;  circulation  4,500 ;  daily. 

La  Orientacion,  Calle  Carrera  6 ;  tri-weekly ;  circulation  2,500. 

El  Alba,  Calle  II;  tri-weekly;  circulation  1,200. 

El  Dia,  Carrera  5 ;  daily;  circulation  2,300. 

Fenix,  Calle  13;  tri-weekly;  circulation  1,000. 

Cauca  Comercial;  weekly. 
Medellin  : 

El  Espectador;  daily;  circulation  4,500. 

Correo  Liberal;  daily;  circulation  3,600. 

El  Colombiano;  daily;  circulation  3,000. 

El  Sol;  daily;  circulation  1,200. 

El  Diario;  daily. 

Antioquia ;  weekly ;  circulation  5,000. 

La  Cronica  Municipal;  weekly;  circulation  1,300. 

Boletin  Estadistica;  monthly;  circulation  6,000. 

Colombia;  weekly;  circulation  6,000. 

La  Montana ;  weekly. 

Las  Novedades ;  weekly. 

La  Justicia;  weekly. 

El  Esfuerzo;  weekly. 

La  Poliantea ;  weekly. 

El  Nacional;  weekly. 

Los  Tiempos;  weekly. 

El  Liberal;  weekly. 
Bogota: 

Diario  de  Cundinamarca;  daily. 

Diario  Oficial;  daily. 

El  Conservador;  daily. 


238  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

El  Comercio;  daily. 

El  Heraldo;  daily. 

El  Criterio;  daily. 

El  Republicano;  daily. 

El  Telegrama;  daily. 

Gaceta  de  Cundinamarca ;  daily. 

Gaceta  Eepublicana ;  daily. 

Liberal;  daily. 

Gil  Bias;  daily. 

Manana;  daily. 

Renovacion ;  daily. 

El  Tiempo;  daily. 

La  Patria 

El  Catolicismo ;  weekly. 

El  Grafico;  weekly. 

El  Espectador;  weekly. 

Ecos  de  Los  Andes;  weekly. 

La  Tribmia 

Sur  America 

La  Sociedad 
BarranquUloi: 

El  Promotor;  weekly. 

La  Revista;  fortnightly. 

El  Acontecimiento;  weekly. 

El  Dia;  daily. 

El  Liberal;  daily. 

La  J^acion;  daily. 

El  Universal;  daily. 

El  Siglo 

Rigoletto 

El  Pueblo 

Mercurio 
CaHagena: 

La  Epoca 

El  Porvenir 

Diario  de  la  Costa 

Union  Liberal 
Arenal: 

El  Precursor 
Calamar: 

Guante  Blanco 
Magcmgue: 

La  tfusticia 

El  Verbo 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  239 


Mompos: 

La  Orientacion 
Sincelejo: 

El  Correo  de  Sabanas 

El  Anunciador 
Monteria: 

El  Eco  Simiano 
Lorica: 

El  Comercio 
Cerete: 

Cosmos 
Mamzdles: 

Correo  de  Caldufl 

La  Idea 
Popayan: 

El  Liberal 

El  Figaro 

El  Siglo 
Salazar: 

La  Informacioni 
Cali,  Depto.  Valle: 

El  Heraldo 
Sincelejo,  Bolivar: 

El  Heraldo 
Bu  enav  entura : 

El  Faro 
San  Jose  de  Cucuta: 

El  Trabajo 
Santuario: 

El  Tatania 
La  Mesa: 

Eevista  de  Tequendlama 
Cartagena: 

El  Porvenir 
Bucaramanga: 

El  Liberal 
Palmira,  Cauca: 

El  Voceador 
Honda: 

Union  Liberal 
Pampola: 

La  Unidad  Catolica 


240  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

COSTA  RICA 

krea,   2S,000  square   miles.     Population,   JfOOfiOO,   whites, 
negroes,  mulatto es  and  a  few  Indians.     Language,  Spanish. 
Principal  cities  with  populations:   San  Jose  (capital),  50,000; 
Cartago,  5,000;  Puerto  Limon,  6,000. 
San  Jose: 

La  Gaceta  (official). 

La  Inf ormacion ;  daily. 

La  Prensa ;  daily ;  issued  by  the  Soeiedad  Editoria  Nacional. 

La  Comercial;  issued  on  Sundays  by  the  Botica  Frances. 

Diario  del  Comercio 

La  Tribuna 

Diario  de  Costa  Rica 

La  Verdad 

La  Semana ;  weekly. 

El  Cometa;  weekly. 

El  Noticiero 

El  Imparcial 
Limon: 

El  Tiempo 

El  Pais;  weekly. 
Cartago: 

El  Renaeimiento 

El  Correo  del  Atlantico 
San  Ramon: 

El  Ramonese 
Puntarenas: 

El  Pacifico 

El  Correo  de  la  Costa 
H^edia: 

El  Area 

CUBA 

Area,  4-5,881  square  miles.  Population,  2,500,000,  half  being 
white  and  remainder  negroes  and  mulattoes.  Language,  Spanish. 
Principal  cities  with  populations:  Havana  {capital),  350,000; 
Matanzas,  75,000;  Cienfuegos,  75,000;  Camaguey,  70,000;  Man~ 
zanillo,  56,000;  Santiago,  55,000;  Pinar  del  Rio,  53,000;  Santa 
Clara,  JtS,000;  Ouantanamo,  J^5,000. 
Publications  in  Havana: 

Asturias;  illustrated  weekly;  circulation  8,000. 

Aurora,  La;  monthly  magazine,  circulation  3,000. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  241 

Avisador  Comercial;  daily,  except  Sunday;  commercial  news- 
paper; circulation  4,000. 

Bohemia;  illustrated  weekly;  circulation  10,000. 

Boletin  Oficial;  daily  official  bulletin  of  Havana  Province; 
circulation  2,000. 

Boletin  Municipal;  daily  official  bulletin  of  the  Havana  city 
government;  circulation  2,000. 

Confetti,  illustrated  weekly;  circulation  30,000. 

Correo;  weekly  newspaper  devoted  to  postal  service;  circula- 
tion 2,000. 

Cuba;  morning  and  afternoon  daily;  circulation  24,000. 

Cuba  Automovilista ;  automobile  monthly;  circulation  2,500. 

Cuba  Cotemporanea ;  literary  monthly ;  circulation  1,000. 

Cuba  y  America;  monthly;  circulation  4,000. 

Cuba  Ilustrada;  literary  monthly;  circulation  16,500. 

Cuba  Pedagogica;  semimonthly  school  journal,  circulation 
1,000. 

Cuba  Miltar;  military  semimonthly;  circulation  1,000. 

Diario  de  la  Marina;  morning  and  afternoon  daily;  circula- 
tion 50,000—25,000  each  edition. 

Diario  Espanol;  morning  daily;  circulation  8,000. 

El  Comercio;  commercial  daily;  2  editions;  circulation  24,000. 

El  Dia;  morning  daily;  circulation  20,000. 

El  Figaro;  illustrated  weekly;  circulation  8,000. 

El  Financiero;  monthly  financial  journal. 

El  Hogar;  illustrated  weekly;  circulation  2,000. 

El  Mundo;  morning  daily;  circulation  25,000. 

El  Pais;  afternoon  daily;  circulation  2,000. 

El  Triunfo;  morning  daily;  circulation  14,000. 

Evolucion ;  semimonthly  magazine ;  circulation  1,000. 

Evolucion,  political  weekly;  circulation  1,000. 

Femina ;  fashion  monthly  given  free  to  subscribers  of  Cuba. 

Galicia;  weekly;  circulation  5,000. 

Gaceta  Oficial ;  daily  official  gazette  of  the  Cuban  Government ; 
circulation  1,650 ;  no  advertising. 

Gaceta  Militar;  military  monthly;  circulation  1,000. 

Gran  Mundo,  El ;  society  semimonthly ;  circulation  2,000. 

Grafico ;  illustrated  weekly ;  circulation  24,000. 

Gran  Logia,  La ;  masonic  monthly ;  circulation  670. 

Guasimas,  Las;  masonic  weekly;  circulation  1,500. 

Havana  Post,  The;  morning  daily  in  English;  circulation 
4,000. 


242  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Heraldo  de  Cuba;  morning  daily;  circulation  32,000. 

Ilustracion;  illustrated  weekly;  circulation  10,000. 

La  Campana ;  political  weekly ;  circulation  10,000. 

La  Caricatura;  illustrated  weekly;  circulation  11,400. 

La  Discusion;  morning  daily;  circulation  15,000. 

La  Jurisprudencia  al  Dia;  semimonthly  law  journal,  circula- 
tion 1,000. 

La  Lucha;  morning  and  afternoon  daily  with  one  page  in 
English;  circulation  20,000. 

La  Metralla;  illustrated  political  weekly;  circulation  12,000. 

La  Nacion;  afternoon  daily;  circulation  17,000. 

La  Noche;  afternoon  daily;  circulation  20,000. 

La  Prensa;  afternoon  daily;  circulation  15,000. 

La  Semana;  weekly  newspaper;  circulation  20,500. 

Mercuric ;  semimonthly  business  magazine ;  circulation  5,000. 

Modem  Cuba ;  agricultural  monthly ;  English  and  Spanish  in 
parallel  columns. 

Musica;  tri-monthly  musical  review;  circulation  6,000. 

News,   The    Evening;   afternoon   daily   except   Sunday,   in 
English;  circulation  2,000. 

Padre  Cobos;  illustrated  weekly;  circulation  10,000. 

Palenque  Masonico,  El ;  masonic  weekly ;  circulation  2,500. 

Pica!  Pica!;  illustrated  political  weekly;  circulation  9,000. 

Patria ;  weekly ;  circulation  5,000. 

Patria  y  libertad ;  monthly ;  circulation  10,000. 

Politica  Comica;  illustrated  weekly;  circulation  36,000. 

Eeconcentrado,  El;  illustrated  wedily. 

Eevista  Azucarera;  weekly  sugar  review;  circulation  600. 

Eevista  Dental;  monthly  dental  magazine;  circulation  1,000. 

Eevista  Protectora  de  la  Mujer;  tri-monthly  women's  maga- 
zine; circulation  2,000. 

Sentinel,  The;  weekly  in  Spanish  and  English;  circulation 
5,000. 

Social ;  monthly  society  journal ;  circulation  2,000. 

Tabaco,  El;  semimonthly  tobacco  journal;  circulation  5,000. 

Times  of  Cuba,  The;  monthly  magazine  in  English;  circula- 
tion 6,700. 

Voz  de  la  Eazon;  political  semiweekly;  circulation  5,000. 

Wah  Man  Yat  Po;  daily  in  Chinese  language;  circulation 
1,000. 
Publications  in  Sancti  Spiritus: 

El  Comercio 

El  Fenix 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  243 

Hero 

La  Nueva  Situacion 
Trinidad: 

Juventud  Liberal 
El  Telegrafo 
El  Bco 
Camaguey: 

Boletin  Oficial  de  la  Camara  de  Comercio 
Camagney  Grafico 
Camaguey  Masonico 
El  Popular 
El  Nacional 
El  Simun 
El  Imparcial 
El  Camagueyano 
Cooperacion 
Las  dos  RepubHcas 
Evangelista  Cubano 
La  Perseverancia 
Vieqo  de  AvUa  (Province  of  Camaguey)  : 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  del  Comercio  de  Ciega  de  Avila 

El  Comercio 

La  Palabra  libre 

El  Pueblo 

La  Trocha 
Santiago  de  Cuba  (Province  of  Onente)  : 

Boletin  Oficial 

El  Catolico 

El  Combate 

El  Cubano  Libre 

El  Derecho 

El  Pensil 

La  Prensa 

La  Republica 

Diario  de  Cuba 

La  Independencia 

El  Liberal 

El  Nacional 

El  Oriente  Literario 

El  Oriente  Masonico 

Revista  de  Agricultura 

Eevista  Municipal 


244  ADVEBTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Bayamo: 

El  Tiempo,  daily. 
Vdministrador 

La  Regeneracion 
Gibwra: 

El  Progreso 

La  Tribima 

El  Triunfo 
Ckumtcmamo: 

Eco  de  Tunas,  El 

El  Agxicultor  Practico,  bi-monthly. 

La  Antorcha  • 

Diario  del  Pueblo 

El  Tiempo 

La  Publicidad 

El  Liberal 

Diario  de  la  Tarda 

El  Imparcial 

El  Nacionalista 

La  Voz  del  Publico 

El  Resumai 

El  Heraldo 
Manzanillo: 

Baragua 

El  Debate 

La  Defensa 

Orto 

La  Tribuna 

Aurora  del  Yumuri 

La  Kueva  Aurora 

El  Yucayo 

El  Eepublicano  Conservador 

El  Imparcial 

El  Jejen 

La  Discusion 
Pinar  del  Rio : 

Boletin  Oficial  de  la  Provincia 

La  Epoca  , 

El  Estudiante 

La  Fratemidad 

El  Liberal 

El  Minero 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  245 


Pinar  del  Rio 

La  Semana 
Matanzas: 

Aurora  del  Yimmiy 

Boletin  de  las  Corporaciones  Economicas 

El  Burro   Filosofo;   satiric  weekly. 

El  Correo  de  Matanzas 

El  Chauffeur 

El  Eegional 

El  Republicano  Conservador 

El  Jejen 

El  Dia 

El  Imparcial 

El  Latigo 

El  Moderado 

La  J^ueva  Aurora 

El  Yucayo 
Cardenas: 

Alboras,  illustrated  review 

Muecas,  illustrated  review 

El  Popular 

El  Tiempo 

La  Tribuna  Libre 

La  Union 
Colon: 

La  Defensa 

El  Liberal 

La  Nueva  Senda 
Santa  Clara: 

Boletin  Oficial 

Confederacion 

El  Imparcial 

La  Manana 

El  Comercio 

La  Opinion 

La  Publicidad 

Los  Eayos  X 

Eenacimiento 
Cienfuegos: 

El  Comercio 

Administrador 

La  Correspondencia 

El  Espia 


246  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

El  Nacional 

El  Eepublicano 

El  Boletin  InfantU 
Remedios: 

La  Razon 

La  Tribuna 
Sagua  la  Grande: 

Diario  Economico 

Ecos 

El  Heraldo  Espanol 

La  Hora 

El  Nacional 

La  Patria 

La  Tribuna 
CadhaHen: 

La  Cotorra 
Ciego  de  Avila: 

El  Heraldo 

La  Troche 
Cha/parra: 

El  Eco  de  Chaparra 
Eolguin: 

El  Correo  de  Holguin 

El  Eco  de  Holguin 
Jovellanos: 

La  Eepubliea 
Santiaga: 

La  Tarde 

El  Cubano  Libre 

El  Derecho 

El  Partido  Liberal 

La  Independencia 
Nuevitas: 

Patria 
Gwinajaif: 

El  Vigilante 
Marianao : 

El  Sol 

DOMINICAN  REPUBLIC 

Sometimes  Called  Santo  Domingo 

Area  19,325  square  mdles.    Population,  700,000,  fully  90  per 
cent,  being  negroes  or  mixed  blood.    Language,  Spanish.    Prin- 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  247 

ctpaZ  cities  and  populations:  Santo  Domingo  (capital),  SO, 000; 
Santiago,  15,000;  Puerto  Plata,  10,000. 
Puerto  Plata: 

Ecos  del  Norte;  daily. 

Boletin  de  Noticias;  daily. 

El  Porvenir ;  daily. 
Santiago : 

El  Diario;  daily. 

La  Informacion;  daily. 

El  Civismo 
La  Vega: 

El  Dia 

El  Progreso 
Monte  Cristi: 

Llevenlo 

Voz  del  Pueblo 

La  Pluma 
San  Francisco  de  Macori^: 

El  Anuncio 
Santo  Domingo: 

Listin  Diario;  daily. 

El  Tiempo;  daily. 

Las  Notieias;  daily. 

Letras ;  weekly. 

Eenacimiento ;  weekly. 

Crisantagos ;  weekly. 

Pica  Pica ;  weekly. 

Tomay  Lee;  weekly. 

La  Epoca;  weekly. 

El  Eadical;  weekly. 
San  Pedro  de  Macoris: 

Boletin  Mercantil;  daily. 
Samana: 

Prensa  Local;  daily. 
Azvn: 

La  Hora ;  twice  a  week. 
Bani: 

Ecos  del  Norte ;  weddy, 
Salcedo : 

El  Heraldo;  weekly. 
Moca: 

Independiente;  weekly. 


248  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

BUTCH  GUIANA 

{Sometimes  Called  Surinam) 

Area,  ^6,060  square  miles.     Population  87,500,  mostly  In- 
dians, negroes  and  Ja/vanese.    Language,  English,  Dutch,  Indian 
dialects  and  Javanese.    Principal  dty  Paramaribo,  population 
about  35,000. 
Paramaribo: 

West  Indie;  daily. 

Suriname;  bi-weekly. 

Surinamer;  bi-weekly. 

Surinaamsche  Bode;  bi-weekly. 

Nieuwe  Surinaamsche  Courant;  bi-weekly. 

ECUADOR 

Area,  116,000  sqtca/re  miles.    Population,  1,500,000,  of  whom 
75  per  cent,  are  Indians.    Language,  Spanish  and  Indian  dialects. 
Principal   cities   with   populations:    Quito    (capital),   80,000; 
Guayaquil,  80,000;  Cuenca,  35,000;  Riobamba,  18,000. 
Guayaquil: 

Comercio  Ecuatoriano;  illustrated  monthly;  Spanish;  circula- 
tion 5,000.      - 

Diario  Uustrado;  daily;  Spanish;  circulation  3,000. 

El  Ecuatoriano ;  daily ;  Spanish ;  circulation  3,000, 

Grito  del  Pueblo;  daily;  Spanish;  circulation  3,500. 

El  Guante;  daily;  Spanish;  circulation  4,000. 

El  Guia  Comercial,  weekly  commercial  journal;  circulation 
2,000. 

Helios;  illustrated  monthly;  Spanish;  circulation  3,000. 

La  Nueve  de  Octubre;  official  publication  of  the  city  govern- 
ment ;  issued  twice  a  month ;  circulation  4,000. 

Renacimiento ;  monthly  review;  Spanish;  circulation  2,000. 

El  Telegrafo;  daily;  Spanish;  circulation  15,000. 

El  Tiempo 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  de  Comercio 
Quito : 

El  Dia ;  daily ;  Spanish ;  circulation  2,000. 

La  Corona  de  Maria ;  monthly ;  Spa,nish ;  circulation  500. 

El  Comercio ;  daily ;  Spanish ;  circulation  3,500. 

El  Ecuatoriano;  daily;  Spanish;  circulation  1,000. 

Juan  Verdades;  weekly;  Spanish;  circulation  2,000. 

La  Langosta;  weekly;  Spanish;  circulation  1,600, 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  249 

Registro  Oficial;  oflEicial  government  daily;  Spanish;  circula- 
tion 500;  circulated  free  to  business  houses;  no  adver- 
tising. 

La  Revista;  literary  monthly;  Spanish;  circulation  500;  no 
advertisements. 

La  Voz  del  Obrero;  weekly  labor  journal;  Spanish;  circula- 
tion 500. 

La  Tribuna 
Bahia  de  Caraquez: 

El  Globo 
Loja: 

Revista  Cientifica 
Babdhoho: 

El  Republicano 
Biohamba: 

El  Mensajero  del  Corazon  de  Jesus 
Ambato: 

Floracion 
Portoviejo : 

El  Cronista 

GUATEMALA 

Area,  Ji.8,290  square  miles.     Population,  2,000,000,  fully  90 
per  cent,  being  unlettered  Indians.     Language,  Spanish  and 
Indian  dialects.    Principal  cities,  with  populations:  Guatemala 
City  (capital),  100,000;  Quezaltenango,  25.000. 
Guatemala  City: 

Diario  de  Centre- America ;  daily  except  Sundays. 

La  Tribuna;  daily  except  Sundays. 

El  Nacional ;  daily  except  Sundays. 

La  Eepublica ;  daily  except  Sundays. 

La  Actualidad;  daily  except  Sundays. 

Guia  Oficial;  daily  except  Sundays. 

El  Guatemalteco ;  weekly. 

Centre-America ;  quarterly. 

Memoria  del  Ministro  de  Hacienda 

Memoria  del  Ministro  de  Foment© 

HAITI 

Area,  10,200  square  miles.  Population,  2,000,000,  chiefly 
ignorant  negroes.  Language,  French  and  a  "negroized"  patois. 
Principal  cities,  with  populations:   Port  au  Prince  {capital). 


250  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

65,000;  Jerome,  35,000;  Cape  Hmtien,  30,000;  Aux  Caves, 
25,000;  Mole  St  Nicholas,  12,000. 
Port  au  Prince: 

Le  Matin ;  daily. 

Le  Nouvelliste;  daily. 

Courrier  du  Soir;  daily. 

HONDURAS 

Area,  ^6,850  squa/re  miles.    Population,  600,000,  largely  lur- 
diams.    Language,  Spamsh.    Principal  cities,  with  population: 
Tegucigalpa  (capital),  JfO,000;  La  Ceiba,  10,000. 
Tegucigalpa: 

El  Nuevo  Tiempo  daily. 

El  Cronista  « 

Tegucigalpa  '* 

El  Progreso  ** 

La  Eegeneracion         " 

El  Esfuerzo ;  monthly. 

Eevista  Militar;  monthly. 

Paz  y  Union;  weekly. 

Argos ;  weekly. 

El  Renacimiento ;  weekly. 

La  Eevista  Economica ;  weekly. 

Nuevos  Horizontes;  weekly. 
Depaartamento  de  Olwncho: 

Revista  Juticalpa 
Amapala: 

Renacimiento;  monthly  review. 
La  Ceiba: 

Atlantida;  weekly  review. 

Centro- America;  monthly  review. 

Pro  Patria 

The  Reporter;  monthly  review. 
San  Pedro  Sula: 

El  Comercio;  weekly. 

El  Heraldo;  weekly. 

Actnalidades;  weekly. 

MEXICO 

Area,  767,097  square  ndles.    Population  ahout  H,000,000,  of 
whom  more  than  50%   are  ignorant  Indians;  many   mixed 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  251 

"breeds  and  mulattoes,  whites  aaid  a  few  negroes.  Language, 
Spanish.  Principal  cities,  with  population:  Mexico  City, 
{capital),  500,000;  Guadalajara,  120,000;  Puebla,  100,000; 
Monterey,  65,000;  San  Luis  Potosi,  61,000;  Vera  Cruz,  60,- 
000;  Merida,  50,000. 

Note. — Owing  to  the  unrest  which  has  persisted  in  Mexico 
for  the  past  ten  years  many  papers  have  either  suspended  tem- 
porarily or  indefinitely.  As  the  country  returns  to  normal 
numbers  of  these  periodicals  will  undoubtedly  resume  publica- 
tion. The  list  herewith  given  contains  the  names  and  addresses 
of  periodicals  in  existence  up  to  June  1, 1921, 
Acaponeta,  Nayarit: 

El  Eco  de  Nayarit;  weekly. 
Aguascalientes,  Ags.: 

Boletin  Municipal;  weekly. 

El  Heraldo;  weekly. 

Esparaco;  monthly  (social). 

La  Prensa;  weekly. 

Fraternidad 

El  Nacional 

Eenacimiento 

El  Triunfo 

El  Estandarte 

Mercuric 

El  Faro 

Espartaco 

La  Evangelista  Cristiana 

Progreso 

Micros 

Hoja  Popular 

Eureka 
Calexico,  Baja  CaHfomin: 

El  Monitor;  daily. 
Campeche,  Cam.: 

La  Revista  de  Yucatan;  daily. 

Pro-Campeche;   daily. 

El  Monitor  Campechano 
Cananea,  Son.: 

El  Cananease;  6  times  a  week. 

El  Tiempo;  daily. 

The  Observer 

Revista  de  Cananea 
Chihuahua,  Chih.: 


252  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

El  Correo  del  Norte 

Diario  del  Norte 

Boletin  Comercial 

El  Mensajero 

Ideal 

El  Crisol 

Quiqui-Eiqui 

El  Jurado  Popular 

El  Pobre  Diablo 

El  Heraldo 

La  Voz  del  Obrero 

El  Independiente 
Ciudad  Juarez,  Chih.: 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  Nacional 

El  Paso  Heraldo;  daily. 

La  Verdad 

El  Heraldo  Mercantil;  monthly  journal  published  by  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce. 

El  Debate 
CoKma,  Col.: 
Boletin  de  la  Camara  Nacional  de  Comercio  de  Colima; 

fortnightly. 
Union  de  Estudiantes;  fortnightly. 
El  Estado  de  Colima 
La  Eeconquista 
Gaeeta  Municipal 
Bajo  las  Palmaa 
El  Bien  Publico 
Culiacan,  Sin.: 
La  Voz  Nacional ;  daily. 
La  Voz  de  Sinaloa;  daily. 
El  Progreso 
El  Eco  Sinaloense 
Helios 

Boletin  de  la  TJniversidad  de  Occidente 
El  Eepublicano 
El  Hogar 
Durango,  Dgo. : 

Asociacion  Medica  Mexicana 

Boletin  de  Propaganda;  bimonthly. 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  Central  Agricola  de  Mexico;  monthly. 

Boletin  Comercial;  fortnightly. 

El  Comercio;  daily. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  253 

El  Heraldo  Comercial;  weekly. 
El  Monitor;  daily. 
Virtus 
Orientacion 
El  Obrero 

El  Boletin  Eclesiastico 
El  33 

El  Trabajo 

El  Porvenir  Intelectual 
Guadalajaraj  Jal.: 
Boletin  de  la  Camara  Nacional  de  Comercio 
El  Infonnador;  daily. 
El  Obrero  Catolico;  weekly. 
La  Opinion;  tri-monthly. 
Bestauracion ;  daily. 
Eevista  de  Guadalajara;  bi-monthly. 
El  Estado  de  Jalisco;  official  organ  of  government  of  the 

State. 
Boletin  de  la  Camara  Agricola  Nacional  Jalisciense;  organ  of 

Chamber  of  Agriculture. 
Gaceta  Mercantil ;  organ  of  Chamber  of  Commerce. 
Gaceta  Municipal ;  organ  of  City  Council. 
La  Voz  de  Hidalgo 
Ideal 

La  Prensa 
Jalisco  Rural 
El  Eco  Guadalupano 
El  Quijote 
El  Derecho 
Ibis 

Bohemia 
Chanteclair 

La  Mujer  Catolica  Jalisciense 
El  Combate 
Caretas 

La  Gaceta  de  Occidente 
La  Voz  de  Jalisco 
Juventud 
Union  Liberal 
Orientacion 
Atenas 
Verbo  Libre 
El  Malcriado 


254  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

America 

Jalisco  Escolax 

Variedades 

Gil  Bias 

Eespetable  Publico 

Aurora 

La  Epoca 

El  Iconoclasta 

Eevista  Azul 

El  Obrero 

La  Voz  de  Maria 
Guanajtuito,  Gto.: 

La  Antorcha;  daily. 

La  Tribunal;  daily. 

A.  B.  C.  Pedagogico 

Guanajuato  Libre 

Cultura 

La  Montana 

Juventud 
Ouaymas,  Son.: 

La  Gaceta  de  Guaymas;  daily. 

Ecos  del  Cabildo 

El  Brochaze 
HermosUlOj  Son.: 

Progreso 

Orientacion;  daily. 

Adelanto 

Boletin  Municipal 

Aurora  Social 
Jalapa,  Ver.: 

El  Eco  Jalapeno;  daily. 

Las  Noticias;  daily. 

Ultimas  Noticias;  daily, 

Eco  Xalapeno;  daily. 

Trabajo 

Boletin   Mensual  de  la  Camara  Nacional  de  Comercio  de 
Jalapa 

La  Voz  Parroquial 

Alma  Latina 

El  30-30 

Monitor  Jalapeno 

La  Escuela  Nacional 
Leon,  Oto.: 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  255 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  Agricola  Nacional  de  Leon 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  Nacional  de  Comercio  de  Leon 

El  Barretero;  daily. 

El  Presente;  weekly  (religions). 

Annonia  Social 

El  Correo  de  Leon 

El  Bajo 

Eevista  Catequistica 

El  Obrero 

El  Popular  Libre 

Libertad 
Matamoros,  Tarn.: 

El  Matamorense ;  tri- weekly. 
ManzanillOj  Col.: 

El  Correo  Occidental;  weekly. 
Mazatlan,  Sin.: 

El  Democrata  Sinoloense 

El  Mosaico 

Correo  de  la  Tarde 

El  Liberal 

Tilin  Tilin 

Sobre  las  Olas 

El  Grillo 
Merida,  Yuc.: 

El  Clamor  Publico;  daily. 

El  Correo;  daily. 

La  Revista  de  Yucatan;  daily. 

La  Voz  de  la  Revolucion;  daily. 

Guyalo  Camara,  Presidente  Liga  de  Accion  Social 

El  Heraldo  Yueateco 

El  Comercio 

La  Estadistica 

El  Henequen 

Chispas 

La  Prensa 

Eebelion 

El  Entreacto 

El  Mosquito  Yacilador 

La  Opinion 

Fratemidad 

Civilista 

La  Eaza 

La  Verdad 


256  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

La  Antorcha 
Boxtoron 
El  Democrata 
Gyan 
Febo 

El  Amigo  de  los  Ninoa 
Tierra 
Cristianismo 
La  Eazon 
Progreso 
El  Huracan 
Mexico,  D.  P. : 

Boletin  de  Trabajo;  weekly. 

Boletin  de  Minero;  weekly. 

Boletin  de  Industria,  Comercio  y  Trabajo;  weekly. 

Boletin  de  Industrias;  weekly. 

Boletin  Extraordinario  de  la   Secretaria  de  Agricultura  y 

Fomento;  weekly. 
Boletin  Oficial  de  la  Sec.  de  Agricultura  y  Fomento;  weekly. 
Boletin  del  Petroleo;  weekly. 
La  Eevista  Agricola;  weekly. 
El  Amigo  del  Campo ;  semimonthly. 
Mexican   Review    (Eevista   Mexicana),   published  partly  inl 

Spanish  and  partly  in  English;  monthly. 
El  Financiero  Mexicano  Petroleo 
Continental 

Mexico,  Financial  &  Commercial 
Mexican  American  Corporation 
El  Heraldo  de  Mexico;  daily. 
Monitor  EepubHcano;  daily. 
La  Vanguardia;   daily. 
El  Democrata;  daily. 
Las  Noticias  Eevolucion;  daily. 
La  Familia;  monthly. 
El  Ferrocarrilero ;  weekly. 
El  Comunista  Mexicano;  monthly. 

Gaceta  Oficial  del  Arzobispado  de  Mexico;  monthly;  religious. 
Boletin  Judicial;  daily. 
Courrier  du  Mexique;  daily. 
Eevista  de  Eevistas;  weekly;  literary. 
El  Universal;  daily. 
Excelsior;  daily. 
Boletin  Financiero  y  Miaero;  daily. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  257 

Mercurio;  weekly. 

Journal  of  the  American  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Mexico, 

monthly. 
Pictorial  Eeview;  monthly 
Don  Quijote;  monthly 

Boletin  de  la  Conf  ederacion  de  Camaras  Industriales ;  monthly 
El  Automovil  en  Mexico;  monthly. 
Petroleo;  weekly. 

Asociacion  Mexica   Mexicana,  Boletin   de  Propaganda;  bi- 
monthly. 
Boletin  de  la  Camara  Central  Agricola  de  Mexico;  monthly. 
America  Latina;  monthly. 
Weekly  News  Bulletin;  weekly. 
Eevista  Ferrocarrilera ;  weekly. 
Diario  Comercial;  daily. 

Revista  de  Arte,  Industria  y  Comercio;  fortnightly. 
Tohtli,  Av.  Francisco  1  Madero  1  Desp  4. 
Nueva  Colima,  Plaza  de  San  Francisco  No.  1. 
Mujer  Modema,  Apartado  1591. 
El  Pueblo,  3a  S.  Diego  y  la  de  Colon. 
Moda  Elegante 
Iberia 

El  Monitor  Comercial 
El  Mensajero  Mariano 
La  Medicina  Modema 
Omega 

Eevista  Mexicana  do  Publicacion 
El  Civilista 
El  Liberal 
Cultura 
El  Criterio 
Cataluna 

Diario  de  la  Noche 
Gladiador  Ferrocarilleiroi 
El  Mexico  Teosofico 
El  Socio 
Eebelion 
Confetti 

El  Sueldo  Integro 
El  Tiempo 
Alma  Nacional 
El  Toreo 
Financiero  Mexicano  y  Petroleo 


258  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

La  Farmacia 

A.  B.  C. 

Eevista  Mariana 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  de  Propietarioa 

Accion  Economica 

Die  Woche 

El  Laborista 

La  Novela  Quincenal 

El  Magazine  Nacional 

Gaceta  Medica  de  Mexico 

Aatizin 

La  Industria  del  Calzado,  Artes  y  Labor 

El  Fnturo 

El  Gladiador 

Zig-Zag 

Vida  Comica 

El  Bien  Publico 

Tcoxitan 

Boletin  Mensual  de  la  Camara  Britanica  de  Comercio  de 

Mexico 
Castillos  y  Leones 
La  Hacienda 
El  Siglo  Espiritu 
El  Amigo  de  la  Ninez 
Las  Nnevas  Ideas 
Eevista  Social 
El  Foro 
El  Nino 

El  Mundo  de  las  Aventuras 
Boletin  Odontologico  Mexicano 
El  Eco  del  Vaticano 
Alba  Eoja 
La  Montana 
La  Voz  del  Joven 
Accion  Estudiantil 
El  Tribunal 
Trenes  y  Alambres 
La  Gaceta  Automotriz 
Ethenos 

Boletin  de  la  Sociedad  Mutualista  Cristobal  Colon 
Pan  American  Eeview 
El  Angel  de  la  Guardia 
Asociacion  Medica  Mexicana,  Boletin  de  Propaganda 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  259 

Wochen-Ausgabe  des  Berliner  Tageblatts 

Union 

Diogenes 

El  Patriota  Guadalupano 

Mexico 

El  Mensajero  del  Corazon 

Ambos  Mundos 

La  Manana 

El  Heraldo  Ilustrado  de  Mexico 

La  Eosa  del  Tepeyac 

La  EepubHca 

Tricolor 

El  Observador  Mexicano 

LTllustration 

El  Pequeno  Mentor  Mexicano 

Arte  y  Sport 

Mexico  Nuevo 

Luz 

Ingenieria  Industrial 

Libre  Examen 

El  Independiente 

Tehuantepec 

Amberger  Nachrichten 

El  Amigo  de  la  Verdad 

El  Ahorro 

Eevista  Eclesiastica 

Panorama  Mundial 

Eosas  y  Azucenas 

Cascabel 

Cyria  Unida 

Arte  Grafico 

El  Dia  Espanol 

Eevista  Mexicana  de  Derecho  Intemacional 

Mores  de  Loto 

El  Mundo  Cristiano 

El  Monitor  Eepublicano,  Cronica  Medica  Mexicana 

Eevista  del  Hogar 

Deutsch-Amerika 

La  Pulga 

Boletia  de  la  Camara  Nacional  de  Comercio 

Ibis 

Mexico  Grafico 

Das  Echo 


260  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Semanario  Judicial  de  la  Federacion 
El  Propagador  de  S.  Jose  Eevolucion 
El  Avicultor 

Boletin  de  la  Confederacion  de  Camaras  de  Comercio 
Accion 
El  Popular 
Gales  Magazine 
Revista  Musical  de  Mexico 
Policromias 
El  Orden 

La  Fuente  del  Consuelo,  Eevista  para  todos 
Boletin 

Sonntagsblatt  der  New-Yorker  Staats-Zeitung 
El  Automovil  de  Mexico 
Anales  de  la  Sociedad  Oftalmologica 
Ahna 

Eeconquista 
Sufragio  Libre 
El  Apologista 
Mexico  Cinematografico 
Argos 

El  Centinela  del  Sur 
La  Voz  de  Juarez 
Revista  Nacional 
Las  Noticiafl 
El  Entreacto 
La  Novela  Popular 
El  Credito  Literario 
Mexico  Modemo 
El  Confederado 
Aladino 
Azul 
Medicina 

El  Sol  de  Zacatlan 
La  Voz  de  la  Ninez 
Monterey,  N.  L.: 
Ahorro  y  Labor 
La  Verdad 
El  Liberal 
La  Tribuna 
Pictorial  Review 
La  Batuta 
El  Baluarte 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  261 


Alpha 

La  Via  de  Paz 

Gaceta  del  Automovil 

Vida  Nueva 

Hoja  Dominical 

A  Zambrano  e  Hijos 

El  Diario 

Atalaya 

El  Noticiero;  daily. 

Boletin  Eclesiastico ;  monthly. 

El  Porvenir;  daily. 

El  Progreso;  daily. 

Nueva  Patria;  daily. 

El  Heraldo;  weekly. 

El  Element©  Sano;  weekly. 

Criterio;  weekly. 

La  Semana;  weekly. 

Monterey  Periodico  Oficial;  weekly. 

Actividad;  monthly. 

Solidaridad;  monthly. 

Aladino 
Morelia,  Mich.: 

El  Heraldo  de  Michoacan;  daily. 

Hoja  Dominical 

El  Gladiador 

El  Demofilo 

Alma  Nacional 

Michoacan  Agricola 

Al  Magisterio  Miehoacaho 

El  Orden 

El  Sufragio 

La  EepubUca 

Cristobal  Colon 

El  30-30 

El  93 

Evolucion 

El  Cm^ado  Catolico 

El  Centinel 
Nacozaxi,  Son.: 

Excelsior;  daily. 

El  Heraldo  de  Mexico;  daily. 
NogaleSj  Son,: 


262  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

La  Nacion;  daily. 

Prensa  Libre 

The  Daily  Morning  Oasis 

El  Monitor  Republicano 
Oaocaca,  Oaxc.: 

Fenix;  daily. 

Mercurio;  daily  except  Monday. 

El  Oaxaqueno;  weekly. 

El  Liberal  Oaxaqueno 

X.  Y.  Z. 

Heraldo  Comereial 

El  Centinela 

Figaro 

la  Lintema 

Ecos  Juveniles 

Iris 

Boletin  de  la  Biblioteca  del  Estado 
Orizaba,  Ver.: 

El  Tiempo;  daily. 

El  Figaro 

Musa  Puber;  illustrated  weekly. 

Arte  de  Vestir 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  de  Comercio 

El  Sembrador 

Citlaltepetl 

Fashion  Book 

Pro  Paris 

Pictorial  Review 

Gaceta  Municipal  de  Orizaba 

El  Baluarte 

El  Dictamen 

Apolo 

El  Iniciador 
Fachuca,  Hdgo.: 

La  Tribuna;  weekly. 

El  Observador;  weekly. 

El  Estudiante 

El  Gladiador 

La  Verdad 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  de  Comercio,  Industria  y  Agricultura 

La  Discusion 

El  Independiente . 

El  Monitor 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  263 

Tenjamo,  Oto.: 

La  Voz  de  Juarez;  weekly. 

Eeivindicacion 
Piedras  Negras,  Coah.: 

Gaceta  Municipal;  weekly. 
Progreso,  Yuc: 

El  Faro;  weekly. 
Puebla,  Pue.: 

El  Monitor;  daily. 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  Agricola  Nacional  de  Puebla;  bi-weekly. 

El  Sol;  daily. 

La  Cronica;  daily. 

Gil  Bias;  daily. 

La  Prensa 

El  Monitor  Eepublicano 

El  Eco  Infantil 

El  Resurgimiento 

La  Tribuna 

Mexico  Nuevo 

La  Voz  del  Parroco 

El  Diario 

Revista  Medica 

Mignon 

La  Ley 

Nueva  Idea 

Revista  Eclesiastica 

El  Progreso 

Musa  Puber 

El  Bohemio 

El  Angd  del  Hogar 

El  Pasquin 

Revista  Azul 

La  Gaceta  de  PoMda 

Jocoso  y  Serio  ' 

Alberta 

Boletin  dd  Comercio 
Puerto  Mexico,  Ver.: 

El  Comercio;  weekly. 
SaltUlo,  Cook.: 

La  Reforma 

Gil  Bias;  daily. 

La  Tribuna;  bi-weekly. 

El  Comercio;  monthly. 


264  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

El  Griton 
San  Cristobal,  Chiapas: 

La  Tribuna 

La  Tribuna,  San  Cristobal  las  Casas. 

El  Desperiador,  San  Cristobal  las  Casas. 
San  Luis  Potosi,  8.  L.  P. : 

Juventud;  daily. 

Accion;  daily. 

El  Picudo;  daily. 

La  Eazon;  daily. 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  Nacional  de  Comercio;  monthly. 

El  Vigilante 

Accion  Potosina 

America 

La  Idea  Nueva 

Evolucion 
Tampico,  Tamps.: 

El  Popular;  daily. 

La  Prensa;  daily. 

Journal  of  the  Am.   Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Tampico; 
monthly. 

El  Mundo;  daily. 

Tampico  Tribune;  weekly. 

Alba  Roja 

El  Heraldo  de  Tampico 

La  Nacion 

El  Tecolote 

Lumen 
Tepic,  Nay.: 

El  Tepiqueno;  weekly. 

El  Eco  de  Nayarit 

El  Presente 

El  Heraldo  de  Nayarit 

El  Claxin 

El  Combate 
Toluca,  Mex.: 

Eegeneration ;  daily. 

La  Opinion;  weekly. 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  de  Comercio,  Agricultura  e  Industria; 
monthly. 

La  Buena  Lid 

Manchas  de  Tinta 

Vida  Nueva  ♦ 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  265 

Boletin  Municipal 

Eevista  de  Toluca 

Fiv.  Toluca 

Lira  Juvenil 

El  Paladin 
Torreon,  CoaJi.: 

La  Opinion;  daily. 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  Agricola  Nacional  de  la  Comereia  La- 
gunera;  monthly. 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  de  Propietarios;  monthly. 

Excelsior;  daily. 

El  Universal;  daily. 

El  Heraldo  de  Mexico;  daily. 

Boletin  Comercial 

El  Sufragio 

El  Combate 
Tuxtla  Guitierrez,  Chis,: 

La  Tribuna;  daily. 

El  Civilista 

El  Criterio 

El  Iris  de  Chiapas 

Eco  Estudiantil 

Ariel 

La  Patria  Chica 

El  Mutualista 

Eeconstructor  Nacional 
Vera  Cruz,  Ver.: 

El  Dictamen;  daily. 

La  Opinion;  daily. 

Boletin  de  la  Camara  Nacional  de  Comercio;  monthly. 

Los  Sucesos 

Irredento 

La  Voz  de  Lerdo 

El  Combate 

El  Eco  de  los  Valley 

El  Popular 

El  Jarocho 

El  Arte  Musical 

El  Tabano 

El  Heraldo 

El  Suceso 

La  Voz  de  Liebano 


266  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

ViUahermosa,  Tab.: 

El  Heraldo  de  Tabasco;  daily. 

Boletin  Telegrafico 

Boletin  Municipal 
Zacatecas,  Zclc.  : 

El  Canonazo;  daily. 

Alba  Eoja 

El  Future 

Boletin  Eclesiastico  de  Zacatecas 

El  Mensajero  Mariano 

Municipio  Libre 

El  Piquin 

Guardia  de  Honor  de  Maria 

Eevista  Catequistica  Diocesana 
Leon,  Teo.: 

El  Correo  de  Leon 
Iraptiato,  Gto.: 

El  Correo  de  Irapuato 

El  Centro 

La  Propaganda  Catolica 

El  Gladiador 

El  Heraldo  del  Bajio 

La  Vanguardia 

El  Ferrocarril 

La  Voz  de  Maria 
Leon,  Oto.: 

El  Presente;  weekly;  religious. 
Mexicdli,  Lower  Calif.: 

El  Monitor 
Mexicaii,  B.  Cfa.: 

Mexico  Lustral 
Ciudad  Camargo,  Chih.: 

El  Defensor 
TapachuJa,  Chis.: 

Lux  Lumine 

El  Tacana 

El  Sur  de  Mexico 
La  Paz,  Lower  Calif.: 

El  Eco  de  California 

La  Prensa 
Ta/mbaya,  D.  F.: 

Las  Seiiales  de  los  Tiempos 

Vida  Nueva 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  267 


Tamba,  D.  P.: 

El  Boletin  Municipal 

Alma  Joven 
Oomez  Palacio,  Dgo.: 

Boletin  Comercial 

El  Alacran 
Swn  Luis  de  la  Paa,  Qto.z 

Lnx 

El  Chiquitin 
AcamharOj  Gt&.: 

La  Union 
SaXvatierra,  Gto.: 

Snfragio  Libre 
Cdaya,  Oto.: 

Nueva  Lucha 
Salamancha,  Oto.: 

El  Giro 

Labor 
Acapvico,  Gto.: 

Boletin  de  la  Junta  Protectora  de  la  Ninez 

El  Eape 
Tecamachdlco,  Pue.: 

Eamo  de  Violetaa 
Tuxpan,  Jal.: 

El  Azteca 

Alfa 
Patzcuaro,  Midi,: 

Boletin  Fiscal 

El  Tepeyac 
Zacapu,  Mich.: 

El  Bohemio 
Lagos  de  Moreno,  Jal.: 

El  Pequeno  Cirzado 

El  Drfensor  del  Pueblo 
Tequila,  Jal.: 

La  Esperanza 

La  Luz  del  Hogar 
Teziutla/n,  Pue.: 

El  Paladin 

El  Eepublicano 

El  Eco  de  la  Sierra 

La  Baza 


268  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Queretaro,  Qro.: 

El  Pigmeo 

El  Pueblo 

El  Libertador 

Queretaro  Agricola 

Reproduetor 

Gladiador 

Libertad 

El  Criterio 
Zamora,  Mich.: 

Libertad 

Sufragio  libre 

Eevista  Eclesiastica 

Hoja  Social 
Cuernavaca,  Mor.: 

El  Sur 
Encarnadon  de  Diaz,  Jai.: 

La  Voz  del  Obrero 
Ocotlan,  Jal.: 

Atalaya 
Tehuacan,  Pue. : 

La  Defensa  Social 
Mineral  del  Ora,  Mex.: 

Germinal 

El  Gate 
De  Moreno,  Jal.: 

La  Primacia,  Lagos 
San  Jua/n  de  los  Loffos,  Jal.: 

El  Observador 
Iguala,  Gro.: 

La  Voz  Eedentora 

Eevista  del  Sur 
Tucancingo,  Hgo.: 

Stela 
Ameca,  JaZ.: 

Ecos  del  Pueblo 

Lux 

La  Union 

Vida  Democratica 
Guzman,  Jal.: 

El  Combate 

La  Voz  de  Occidente 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  269 


Progreso 

El  Figaro 
La  Piedad,  Mich.: 

El  Nigromante 
Payo  Obispo,  Q.  R.: 

El  Eco  del  Territorio 

La  Voz  del  Territorio 
ChUpandngo,  Gro.: 

El  Vijia 
Tulcancingo,  Hga.: 

La  Razon 
Linares,  N.  L.: 

El  Eco 

El  Derecho 
Rio  Blanco,  Ver.: 

El  Porvenir 

Ego 
Silao,  Gto.: 

Verbo  Blanco 
Tlapa,  Gro.: 

El  Estudio 
Apam,  Rgo.: 

El  Apamuense 
Mineral  del  Monte,  Hgo.: 

La  Opinion 
Zacualtipan,  Hgo.: 

El  Papagayo 
Montemorelos,  N.  L.: 

Ideal 
Papantia,  Ver.: 

La  Bandera  Eoja 

El  Tajin 
Esperanza,  Son.: 

El  Eco  del  Yaqui 
Tlacopalpan,  Ver.: 

El  Jarocho 
Tuxpam,  Ver.: 

El  Eco  de  Tuxpan 

Neptuno 

Nueva  Era 
Matamoros,  Tamps: 

El  Matamorense 


270  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Nuevo  Lctredo,  Tarn.: 

The  San  Antonio  Light 

El  Eco  del  Bravo 

La  Prensa 

El  Universal 
Alvarado,  Ver.: 

Patria 

El  Heraldo  de  Sotavraito 
Coatepec,  Ver.: 

Ensayos  Liricos 
Tlaxcala,  Tlaac.: 

El  GueTrillero 
Cordoba,  Ver.: 

La  Escuela  Nacional 
Eosario,  Sin.: 

El  Reivindicador 
Ixtlafmaca,  Mex.: 

Apostolado  del  Sagrado  Corazon  de  Jesus 
Cerriios,  8.  L.  P.: 

Union 
Coyoacan,  D.  P.: 

El  Heraldo  de  Coyoacan 
Thnepantla,  Mex.: 

La  Voz  del  Puebla 

El  Eenacimiento 
Matehtuda,  8.  L.  P.: 

Pn>-Patria 
Victoria,  Tarn.: 

Alma  Boja 

Bevista  AntmciadoTa 

NICARAGUA 

Area,  1^9,200  square  miles.    PapuJation,  700,000,  with  large 
percentage  of  Indians  and  negroes.    Laatguage,  Spanish.    Prin- 
cipal cities  and  population:    Managua  (capitai),  J^OfiOO;  Leon, 
70,000;  Gnmada,  15,000;  Bluefields,  OfiOO. 
Mtmagiuk: 

La  Gaceta;  daily. 

El  Heraldo ;  daily. 

El  Comerdo;  daily. 

la  Tarde;  daily. 

El  Diario  de  Nicaragua;  daily. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  271 

Blue-fields: 

La  Inf ormacion ;  weekly. 

La  Voz  del  Atlantico;  weekly, 
Oranadd: 

El  Diario  Mcaragueee 

PANAMA 

Area,  SS,800  sqtiare  miles.  Population,  ^00,000,  mostly 
negroes  and  mulattoes  with  few  Indians  and  whites.  Language, 
Spanish  and  English.  Principal  cities,  with  population:  Panama 
(capital),  40,000;  Colon,  20,000;  Bocas  del  Toro,  10,000. 

Note. — The  Canal  Zone  is  a  strip  of  land  through  which  the 

Panama  Canal  passes.    It  extends  for  five  miles  on  each  side 

of  the  canal,  and  is  owned  and  governed  by  the  United  States. 

The  population,  including  United  States  troops,  varies,  but 

may  be  estimated  at  15,000. 
Panama: 

The  Star  and  Herald;  morning  and  afternoon;  printed  in 
English  and  Spanish,  the  former  language  predominat- 
ing; 7,000  to  8,000  circulation. 

El  Diario  de  Panama;  daily;  Spanish;  3,500  circulation. 

The  Panamanian  Government  publishes  three  official  papers, 
the  Gaceta  de  Panama,  which  is  a  daily,  and  the  Eegistro 
Judicial  and  the  Eegistro  Municipal,  weeklies.  They 
contain  the  legal  and  official  decrees  of  the  Government 
and  circulate  among  lawyers  and  business  men.  They 
carry  no  advertising. 

El  Conservador;  weekly. 
Panama — Monthlies : 

La  Eevista  Nueva;  circulation  1,000. 

The  West  Indian  Progress;  circulation  2,000. 

Esto  y  Aquello 

Memphis 
Canal  Zone: 

Three  publications  with  offices  at  Ancon,  C.  Z.  The  Panama 
Canal  Eecord  is  the  official  publication  of  the  Panama 
Canal  and  is  circulated  free  to  the  employees.  It  carries 
no  advertising.  The  Link  is  an  8-page  weekly  published 
in  English.  The  Panama  Life  is  an  attractive  illustrated 
monthly  which  circulates  among  the  Americans  on  the 
Canal  Zone. 


272  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Colon: 

La  Estrella  de  Colon. 
Bo€(is  del  Toro: 

The  Central  American  Express 
David: 

El  Agricultor 

El  Noticiero 

El  Valle  de  la  Lima 

PAEAGUAY 

Area,  196,000  square  miles.  Population,  800,000,  Indians, 
negroes  and  mixed  blood  predominating.  Language,  Spanish 
and  Indian  dialects.  Principal  cities,  with  population:  Asun- 
cion (capital),  60,000;  Villa  Bica,  35,000;  Concepdon,  25,000. 
Asuncion  : 

El  Diario;  afternoon  daily. 

La  Tribuna;  afternoon  daily. 

El  Liberal ;  afternoon  daily. 

El  Naeional ;  daily. 

El  Economista  Paraguayo 

La  Capital 

Los  Principios 

La  Manana 

La  Libertad 

PEEU 

Area,  687,600  square  miles.  Population,  ^,000,000,  large  p&- 
centage  of  illiterate  Indians;  mixed  bloods,  half-breeds  and 
whites.  Language,  Spanish  and  Indian  dialects.  Principal 
cities,  with  populations:  Lima  (capital),  150,000;  Callao,  35,- 
000;  Arequipa,  35,000;  Cerro  de  Pasco,  18,000 ;  Piura,  15,000; 
Trujillo,  12,000;  Iquitos,  10,000;  Mollendo,  6,000. 
Lima: 

Dailies — 

El  Peru;  morning;  circulation  10,000. 

El  Comercio;  morning  and  afternoon;  circulation,  morning 
about  16,000,  afternoon  10,000. 

La  Prensa,  morning  and  afternoon,  circulation  10,000  and 
8,000  respectively. 

El  Tiempo ;  morning ;  circulation  10,000 

La  Croniea;  illustrated  morning. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  273 

La  J^Tueva  Union 

La  Tradicion ;  Catholic  church  paper. 

El  Peniano;  government  daily. 

Variedades;  illustrated  weekly;  15,000  circulation. 

West  Coast  Leader;  weekly;  English;  circulation  5,000. 

Weeklies: 

Sud  America 

Hogar 

El  Turf 

Mundial 

Manana 

Don  Lunes 

Excelsior 

El  Peru 

Monthlies: 

Mercurio  Peruano 

Studium ;  university  paper. 

Stylo ;  for  women. 

La  Cronica  Medica;  medical  journal. 

Boletin  Farmaceutico 

Boletin  de  la  Sociedad  de  Ingenieros 

Informaciones  y  Memorias 

La  Eevista  del  Torct;  stock  journal. 

La  Agricultura 

Economista  Peruano 

Peru  Modemo 

La  Mujer  Peruana 

Semi-MonthUes: 

El  Ingeniero 

El  Financista 
Arequipa: 

El  Pueblo;  daily;  8,000  circulation. 

El  Deber;  daily;  1,000  circulation. 

La  Federacion;  daily. 

El  Heraldo;  daily. 

La  Patria ;  weekly. 
Abancay: 

La  Libertad;  every  other  day. 
Aplao: 

Evolucion;  weekly. 
Ayacucho: 

La  Era;  daily. 

la  Abeja;  weekly. 


All  of  very  small  circulation. 


274  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Chiclwyo: 

La  Prensa;  daily. 
El  Departamento ;  daily. 
El  Bien  Agricola;  daily. 
La  Tarde;  daily. 
El  Martillo;  daily. 
El  Pais;  daily. 
El  Tiempo;  daily. 
El  Progreso;  daily. 

Cajama/rca: 

El  Ferrocarril;  daily;  2,000  circulation. 

El  Norte;  daily;  1,000  circulation. 

El  Sol;  bi-weekly. 

El  Heraldo;  bi-weekly. 
Callao  : 

El  Callao 
Cerro  de  Pasco: 

The  Inca  Chronicle;  American  mining  weekly. 

Los  Andes ;  daily. 

El  Eco  de  Junin ;  bi-weekly. 

El  Pueblo;  bi-weekly. 

El  Minero;  weekly. 
Cuzco: 

El  Sol;  daily. 

El  Naeional;  daily. 

El  Comercio;  daily. 

La  Voz  del  Sur 
Chinca  Alta: 

La  Union ;  daily. 

La  Accion ;  daily. 
Contamana: 

La  Voz  de  Ucayali ;  daily. 
Etumcawelica: 

El  Girondino ;  weekly. 
Hunata: 

El  Progreso;  weekly. 
Hucmuco : 

El  Pueblo ;  every  other  day. 

El  Huallaga;  every  other  day. 
Hua/ras: 

El  Departamento  de  Ancachs;  daily. 

El  Huascaran;  every  other  day. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  275 


Hua/ncayo: 

El  Pueblo;  daily. 

La  Voz  de  Huancayo;  daily. 

La  Patria 

La  Eevolucion;  tri-weekly. 
HtULcho : 

El  Heraldo;  daily. 

La  Patria;  daily. 
Huaylas: 

La  Voz  de  Huaylas;  small  weekly. 
lai: 

El  Heraldo;  daily. 

El  Tiempo;  daily. 

El  Comercio;  daily. 

La  Voz  de  Inca 
Iquitos: 

El  Comercio;  daily. 

El  Oriente;  daily. 

La  Manana;  daily. 
J  aula: 

El  Bien  Publico;  weekly. 
Mollendo: 

La  Portena;  every  other  day. 

La  Patria ;  every  other  day. 
Moquequa: 

La  Ref orma ;  weekly. 
Lambayeque : 

El  Norte;  daily. 
Paita: 

La  Igualdad ;  daily. 
Pisco: 

El  Imparcial;  weekly. 
Pvura: 

El  Tiempo;  daily;  2,000  circulation. 

El  Sol;  daily;  1,000  circulation. 

El  Leber;  daily;  1,000  circulation. 

La  Industria 
Pacasmayo : 

La  Provincia;  weekly;  3,000  circulation. 

El  Puerto 
Puno : 

El  Sol;  daily. 


276  ADVERTISING  FOB  TRADE 

El  Eco  de  Puno ;  daily. 

El  Siglo ;  daily ;  and  all  small  circulations. 
8an  Vicente  de  Canete: 

La  Linterna;  daily. 
Sicuani: 

La  Verdad ;  every  other  day. 
Sechura: 

La  Verdad;  weekly. 

El  Bien  Publico;  weekly. 
Tama: 

La  Verdad ;  daily. 

La  Union;  daily. 
Trujillo : 

La  Eeforma;  daily;  4,000  circulation. 

La  Opinion  Publica;  tri-weekly. 

La  Tarde;  daily;  2,000  circulation. 

La  Industria;  daily. 

La  Libertad 
Tumba: 

La  Verdad;  weekly. 
La  Union: 

El  Deber;  weekly. 
YatUi: 

La  Minera ;  weekly. 
Turimagnas: 

La  Semana;  weekly. 


PORTO  RICO 

Area,  3,606  square  miles.  Population  1,120,000,  chiefly 
negroes  and  mulattoes,  with  relatively  few  pure  whites.  La/n- 
guage,  Spanish  and  English.  Principal  cities,  with  populations : 
San  Juan  (capital),  50,000;  Ponce,  35,000;  Mayaguez,  17,100; 
Caguas,  10,000;  Arecibo,  10,000. 
AguaAilla: 

Libertad  (Liberty) ;  weekly. 
Arecibo: 

El  Eegionalista;  daily. 
Ouayama: 

Pancho  Ibero;  weekly. 
Eumacao : 

Consciencia  Popular;  weekly. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  277 

Mayaguez: 

La  Bandera  Americana;  daily,  evening  except  Sunday. 

La  Nueva  Era  (Diario  del  Oeste) ;  evening  except  Sunday. 

La  Eevista  Blanca;  Sunday. 

Voz  de  la  Patria;  daily  except  Sunday. 
Ponce: 

El  Aguila  de  Puerto  Rico  (Porto  Rico  Eagle) ;  evening  ex- 
cept Sunday. 

El  Dia ;  evening  except  Sunday. 

La  Consciencia  Libre 

Puerto  Rico  Evangelico 
San  Juan: 

El  Camaval;  Sunday. 

El  Imparcial;  evening  except  Sunday. 

El  Mundo;  daily  except  Sunday. 

El  Palenque;  evening. 

El  Tiempo  (English  and  Spanish) ;  daily  except  Sunday. 

Justicia  (English  and  Spanish) ;  weekly. 

La  Correspondencia  de  Puerto  Rico;  evening  except  Sunday 
and  Sunday  morning. 

La  Democracia;  evening  except  Sunday. 

La  Verdad;  weekly. 

Padres  Franciscanos  Capuchinos  (religious). 

Nosotros;  weekly. 

Porto  Rico  Progress  (English) ;  weekly. 

Puerto  Rico  Ilustrado;  weekly. 

Union  Obrera ;  evening  except  Sunday. 

Voz  del  Obrero;  weekly. 

Heraldo  de  la  Mujer  (woman  suffrage) ;  in  English-Spanish. 

Pica  Pica 

La  Verdad 

El  Nacionalista 

Puerto  Rico  Comercial 

El  Pueblo 

El  Piloto 

Rocinante-Caguas,  P.  B. 
Ycmco : 

La  Reforma;  semi-weekly. 

SALVADOR 

Area,  7^25  square  miles.     Population,  1,700,000,  Indians, 
negroes,  mixed  blood  and  whites.    Language,  Spanish.    Prind- 


278  ADVERTISING  FOB  TRADE 

(pal  cities,  with  population:     San  Salvador  {capital),  70,000; 
Santa  Ana,  60,000;  San  Miguel,  30,000. 
San  Salvador: 

Diario  del  Salvador 

La  Prensa 

Diario  Latino 

La  Palabra 

Bulletin  of  the  Salvadorean  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

El  Mundo  Ilustrado;  weekly. 

El  Cronista 

El  Centro  Americano 
Sana  Ana: 

Diario  de  Occidente 
San  Miguel: 

Diario  de  Oriente 

La  Noticia 

URUGUAY 

Area,  72,210  square  miles.  Population,  1,500,000,  chiefly 
white,  very  few  Indians.  Language,  Spanish.  Principal  cities, 
with  populations:  Montevideo  (capital),  500,000;  Paysandu, 
35,000;  Mercedes,  25,000;  Salto,  25,000;  Fray  Bentos,  15,000. 
Montevideo : 

El  Dia;  morning  daily;  circulation  38,000. 

El  Plata;  evening  daily;  circulation  25,000;  morning  edition 
is  called  Diario  del  Plata  and  has  circulation  of  about 
10,000. 

La  Tribuna  Popular;  morning  daily;  circulation  25,000. 

La  Eazon;  evening;  circulation  of  about  25,000. 

El  Siglo;  morning;  circulation  10,000. 

El  Telegrafo;  evening;  circulation  10,000. 

El  Bien  Publico;  morning  daily;  circulation  5,000. 

La  Mariana;  daily;  circulation  8,000. 

Diario  Espanol ;  daily ;  circulation  3,000. 

Diario  Comercial;  daily. 

El  Pueblo 

La  Democracia 

El  Pais 

El  Comercial 

The  Montevideo  Times  (English) 

La  Noche 

La  Propaganda;  circulation  5,000;  bi-weekly. 

El  Estanciero;  circulation  4,000;  bi-weekly. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  279 

La  Eevista  de  la  Asociacion  Rural  del  Uruguay;  monthly 
farm  journals. 

El  Hacendado;  monthly  farm  journal. 

Vida  Rural ;  monthly  farm  journal. 

S electa;  monthly. 

Anales;  monthly. 

El  Economista  UrugTiayo;  monthly  economic  journal. 

Arquitectura;  bimonthly  organ  of  Society  of  Architects. 

Ingenieria  S ud- Americano ;  monthly  engineering  journal. 

Boletin  del  Consejo  .Nacional  del  Higiene;  monthly  bulletin 
of  National  Board  of  Health. 

El  Mercurio;  weekly;  groceries. 

Revista  Maritima;  bi-weekly;  shipping. 

Revista  Quincenal  de  la  Bolsa  de  Comercio;  bi-weekly;  stock 
exchange. 
Artigas: 

La  Anunciador 
San  Fructiioso: 

El  Trabajo 
Rocha: 

El  Orden 
Minos: 

El  Orden 
San  Jose: 

El  Imparcial 
Salto : 

Ecos  del  Progreso 
Mello: 

El  Deber  Civico 
Treinta  y  Tres: 

El  Comercio 
San  Eugenio: 

La  Campana 

VENEZUELA 

Area,  393,976  square  miles.  PopvJation,  3,000,000,  of  whom 
.600,000  are  semi-civilized  Indians  and  the  remainder  negroes, 
whites  and  mixed  blood.  Language,  Spanish  and  Indian  dia- 
lects. Principal  cities,  with  populations:  Caracas  (capital), 
100,000;  Valencia,  65,000;  Barquisimeto,  60,000;  Maracaiho, 
60,000;  Puerto  Cdbello,  JtOjOOO;  Ciudad  Bolivar,  40,000;  La 
Guaira,  20,000. 


280  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

Caracas: 

El  Universal;  daily. 

El  Nuevo  Diario;  daily. 

El  Diario;  daily. 

El  Noticiero;  daily. 

La  Patria;  weekly. 

La  Eevista ;  weekly.    . 

Heraldo  Industrial 

El  Dia 
Ciudad  Bolivar: 

El  Luchador;  daily. 

Diario  Comercial 
Maracaibo: 

El  Fonografo  (State  of  Zulia) ;  daily. 

La  Manana;  daily. 

El  Panorama;  daily. 

El  Avisador;  daily. 

Ecos  del  Zulia;  daily. 

El  Comercio;  semi-weekly. 

La  Estrella  de  la  Manana;  semi-monthly. 

Fulgores;  semi-monthly. 
Puerto  Cdbello: 

Boletin  de  Noticias;  daily. 

Diario  de  Avisos;  daily. 

El  Teson;  daily. 

El  Estandarte;  daily. 

Centenario;  monthly. 
Valencia: 

El  Eco  Publico;  daily. 

El  Cronista;  daily. 

El  Radical;  daily. 

La  Lucha;  tri-weekly. 
Trujillo: 

El  Universal 

Eehabilitador;  weekly. 
Talera: 

La  Cordillera;  weekly. 
San  Lacero: 

19  de  Abril;  weekly. 
Bocano : 

Artes  y  Letras;  weekly. 
Bampan: 

Iris;  weekly. 


IN  LATIN-AMERICA  281 

Merida: 

Albores  (state  of  Merida) ;  monthly. 

El  Artesano 

Eevista  Universitaria,  University  of  Merida;  monthly. 

Los  Andes,  weekly. 
San  Cristobal: 

Horizontes;  daily. 

El  Pueblo ;  weekly. 

Union  Tachirense;  weekly. 
Rubio  : 

El  Andino ;  weekly. 
Coro : 

El  Dia 
Cucuta: 

El  Trabajo;  semi-weekly. 

El  Cronista;  semi- weekly. 

La  Tarde;  daily. 

La  Gran  Colombia;  weekly. 

Argos;  weekly. 
Barquisimeto : 

El  Occidental 

WEST  INDIES: 

JAMAICA  (British) 
Kingston: 

The  Gleaner;  daily. 

Jamaica  Times ;  published  every  Saturday. 
Montego  Bay: 

New   Century   and   St.   James    Chronicle;   published   every 
Wednesday  and  Saturday. 

Northern  /News ;  published  every  Saturday. 
BERMUDA  (British) 
Hamilton : 

The  Eoyal  Gazette ;  tri-weekly. 

The  Colonist  Press  &  Daily  News;  daily. 

The  Mid-Ocean 
BAHAMAS  (British) 
Nassau: 

The  Guardian 

The  Tribune 

Both  bi-weekly.  The  Tribune  publishes  a  small  daily  sheet 
of  telegrams. 


282  ADVERTISING  FOR  TRADE 

TEINIDAD,  B.  W.  I. : 
Trinidad  Guardian 
Port  of  Spain  Gazette 
Argos 

CUEACAO,  D.  W.  I. : 

Boletin  Comercial 

GUADELOUPE  (French), 
Basse  Terre: 
Nouvelliste 


't  aate  ;  oamped 


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